War and Memories
by Stormfire76
Summary: A harsh battle to win. A difficult history to remember. Endless death to forge. . . . This is the life of Reyna Concessi, sister of the Queen of the Amazons, daughter of the goddess of war, former friend of a son of Jupiter, and praetor of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata. Set during the Battle of Greece. Rated T for violence and (pretty mild) language.
1. The Island

**I love Reyna. I think she's a great character that's underappreciated in the series, which is why I started writing this story in the first place. It started out as a future chapter for my other story, _A World of Oneshots_, but after I hit 10,000 words, my friend, fabulouslaughter, convinced me that I should post it separately... :P And that's about all you need to know in advance, since I'm assuming you've read the summary... Oh, and just so you guys know, I have absolutely nothing against men. But Circe does, so there might be a couple anti-men scenes in here. That doesn't mean it reflects my personal opinion. :P**

**Reviews are appreciated! :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.**

* * *

**The Island**

* * *

_A sandy beach. I wake up, holding onto a hand that feels twice as large as mine. "Lala? Lala, where are we?" I couldn't pronounce her name properly until I was seven._

_Hylla wakes up, groggy, sand sticking to her eyelashes. That is very clear - the sand on her eyelashes. It is the clearest thing about this memory. _

_As soon as she realizes what we are laying on, her tired eyes widen. "Reyna, how did this happen? We were going to bed... I was worrying about your first day of kindergarten next week, wondering if..." She looks at me then, and her mouth clamps shut. It isn't until years later that I realize what she had wondered - if the monsters would follow me to school the way they had followed her; if our foster parents would continue to tolerate us if a hellhound attacked us at home, breaking their front door and most of the living room furniture in the process. I don't yet know about the gods that rule all the parts of this world. I haven't met my first monster like Hylla has. I don't understand how hard she has worked to keep us safe. I am still naive, with the innocence that I will lose by the time a mortal would have reached fifth grade._

_"Lala, did you bring us here?" I'm nearly _pleading_ with her to answer with a yes, praying that this is some elaborate last-minute vacation. But the mystified look on Hylla's face convinces me otherwise. Perhaps I am not so naive after all. _

_A woman walks up to us then. She is dressed all in white - loose cotton pants, a necklace of pearls, and a flowing silken shirt - all of it flapping in the wind curling off the ocean. Her makeup is light, but perfect. I remember _her_ eyelashes too - they are long and dark, even though her hair is blond, which I find strange at the time. I don't yet know what mascara is either - but that will change soon enough._

_I don't notice all this immediately, however. I barely have time to register that there is a woman standing beside us with clothes that flutter like a flag before Hylla jumps to her feet, hiding me behind her. "What are you?" she asks, her voice quavering. That is another clear thing about this memory - she asks _what_ the woman is, not who. _

_"My dear, I am like you," the woman answers. Not "I'm a person, what else would I be?" Not even "I am human". She just says that she is "like us". With one glance, this woman can tell what I do not understand, for now - Hylla and I are _not_ human. At least not all the way._

_"I don't believe you," Hylla says flatly. "This beach, this island... It's too nice to be reality. It's a trick. And you..." She hesitates and glances at me. Even now, in this strange place, she is tying to preserve my innocence. "You are not like us."_

_"Are you sure, Hylla?" My sister flinches as the woman says her name. "Yes, my dear, I know who you are. Didn't you pray for a place where you and your sister could be safe?" The woman spreads her arms out wide. "I swear on the River Styx that you two will be safe here." She looks peaceful with her white, billowing sleeves - carefree and content. I find myself hoping that Hylla can find some of that happiness here. She is always so worried at home._

_Hylla looks shocked. "S... Safe?" she stutters. "You swear?"_

_"On the Styx, my dear, the most binding oath that one can make," the woman says, nodding. "But you will learn that soon enough."_

_Hylla stares at her bare feet, squishing sand between her toes. She squints out at the pristine blue water that seems to stretch all the way to the sky. She examines the palm trees that line the beach, as well as the white buildings that rise up behind them and seem to glitter in the sun. Finally she looks down at me. "What do you say, kiddo?" She asks softly. "Would you like to stay for a while?"_

_I nod eagerly, without pausing to think. There's a beach here, and palm trees! Why _wouldn't_ I like to stay for a while?_

_Hylla laughs, a sparkle returning to her eyes that I haven't seen in a long time - not since my vague two-year-old memories of a man with dark hair and a wide grin, holding up my older sister and spinning her around as she giggles._

_"Then it's settled, Reyna," she smiles. "Let's stay."_

* * *

Reyna choked on the memory - or maybe she was coughing because of the nectar that the medic was trying to force into her. "Save it," she gasped out. "Others... Injured too..."

But the medic wouldn't take no for an answer. "They might be injured, but you've lost so much blood, your shirt turned black and hard with it. Bobby had to tear off your praetor's cloak and wrap it around you to try and staunch the flow. I don't care what excuse you give, Reyna. You need this most."

She didn't even know who this person was, which was strange. As praetor, she made it her business to know every member of the legion. Then she remembered. The Greeks were here too. They had needed every capable demigod to be on the battlefield of ancient Olympus if they wanted to defeat Gaea's armies. They were just lucky that Leo and Nico had worked together to design a hi-tech version of Nico's shadow-traveling, so that large numbers of campers could be brought to Greece in an instant.

"Who...?"

Reyma couldn't seem to get the rest of the sentence out, but the medic seemed to understand. "I'm Will Solace," he said, giving her a reassuring smile. "Son of Apollo. Now save your breath. You have a lot of healing to do."

Reyna didn't bother arguing. It hurt too much. Instead, she closed her eyes and fell into another memory.

* * *

_I'm nearly six now, although it's hard to keep track of the days when each one is as sunny and perfect as the one before. I rarely see Circe, the woman who runs the spa on the island. All I know about her is that she has long, dark hair - like Hylla's and mine, only hers has some gold threads braided in it that sparkle in the light - and unlike the rest of the attendants at the spa, who all wear white, Circe dresses completely in black. Hylla has talked to her a couple times, though, and she tells me that Circe is just as nice as she is beautiful. That only seems right to me, since the rest of the island is the same way. _

_One day, Hylla comes into our hotel room (which is what the nice spa assistants call it, even though it doesn't seem much like a hotel when we've lived here for three months), grinning. Hylla's grinning more and more these days. Each of her smiles is like a treasure to me, even more precious than Circe's necklace. "Guess what, Reyna?"_

_"What?" I ask, eyes shining. Whenever Hylla says that, it means she has a surprise. And all of Hylla's surprises are really, _really_ awesome._

_Hylla looks just as excited. "Circe told me today that she thinks it's about time that you learned to read."_

_"Yay!" That would be a good enough surprise for me - I'm the youngest at the spa by far, and not knowing how to read makes me feel just a little left out. But it's clear from Hylla's expression that she's not even done yet._

_"Wait..." I say. "Who's going to teach me to read? Mallory? Anne? Penelope?" I don't suggest Hylla because I know she doesn't have time. As the newest attendant at the spa, she is apprenticing under Delilah, which keeps her super busy. Besides, she's only nine, and teachers are supposed to be _grown-ups_. But I don't mind. Mallory, Ann, and Penelope are all nice ladies who don't mind if I follow them around all day. I'd love it if _any_ of them taught me how to read. _

_Hylla runs over and hugs me, laughing. "Oh, it's a thousand times better than that!" she says. "_Circe's_ going to teach you!"_

* * *

_It's my second week of lessons with Circe. I can write the alphabet already (with backwards b's and d's, but I don't mind that at all), and I know the basic sounds of each letter. Now Circe is teaching me simple words. Every time I get one right, she claps and looks delighted. I try my hardest with each word, just because her happy smile is so pretty._

_Circe holds up a picture of a gray animal with pointed ears and slitted green eyes. As I watch, the animal comes to life, licking her paw and purring. I see the word written under the animal and giggle. "It's a cat!" I tell her proudly. There's a beautiful cat just like this one that lives by the pool._

_Circe puts the card aside and smiles. "Yes, dear, it is."_

_She picks up another. This animal is green and has webbed toes. When it speaks, it makes a croaking sound that I recognize instantly. My old home had a pond in the backyard, and every night the noises leaked through my window and lulled me to sleep. "That's a frog," I announce._

_"You're so smart, Reyna!" Circe praises._

_The third card has a white animal with black polka-dots and black floppy ears. I've seen him in an old Disney movie that I used to watch with Hylla and my foster parents. He woofs, and I laugh. "He's a dog!"_

_"Right! Good job."_

_The next card confuses me. It has a person wearing a suit. While I stare at it, he morphs into a primitive figure wearing leopard skin, wielding a large stick, and flaunting a thick, wild beard. I can see him scowling underneath all the facial hair. He looks terrifying. "It's... a... _man_?" I ask hesitantly. _

_"Yes, dear." Circe starts to put the card with the rest._

_"But I thought we were doing animals!" I blurt out suddenly. _

_Circe shakes her head and smiles at me sadly. "I forget how young you are, Reyna. Men _are_ animals. They are cruel, pigheaded, foolish creatures. Nothing good will come of your interacting with a man. Remember that. Men are only good for one thing."_

_I frown. "What's that?"_

_Circe's mouth curls up at the edges then, but it's a different smile from the others I've seen. This one is almost... _scary_. "I want to show you something, Reyna. Come with me." _

_She stands up and offers her hand to me. I grab it and follow her out of the sunny room, down a few bright corridors, and into another sunny room. But this one is a little different. At the end, I see a big cage full of small, fluffy animals._

_"What are _those_?" I ask, my mouth hanging open._

_Circe leads me over to them. "These are guinea pigs," she tells me. "They used to be men, but they were really _mean_ men. I had to turn them into guinea pigs to keep the world safe from them."_

_My eyes widen. "They were mean?" Now they don't seem to do much more than root around the straw at the bottom of the pen. "What did they do?"_

_Circe hesitates. "That's a story for another time, dear." She doesn't mention the ravaging, the pillaging, the murders, or the countless other crimes that Blackbeard and the other pirates have committed. Even this sorceress understands the importance of childhood. I am too young to understand the full horrors of men, and so Circe spares me the gory details - at least for now._

_"How about we go back to the reading lesson now, Reyna?"_

_"Okay!" And with that, Circe brings me back to the other sunny room, and we settle back into our routine._

_As I enjoy the rest of Circe's flashcards and their pretty magic pictures, the guinea pigs quickly slip my mind. But I don't hesitate at the "man" card any longer._

_After about an hour, Hylla knocks on the door - I can tell it's her because she always raps six times - and comes in. "Hello? Circe? I think it's time for Reyna to come eat lunch..." She looks at us, a happy smile playing at the edges of her mouth... But it quickly disappears as her eyes drop to the card with the angry man in leopard skin._

_"Circe... What is _that_?"_

_Circe doesn't miss a beat. "Reyna needs to know the way men really are, Hylla, if she's going to be safe from them. Don't you agree?"_

_Hylla's shaking. I've never seen her so angry. "I can't believe you're teaching... I looked up to... Brainwashing..." She can't seem to get a full sentence out. Before Circe can interrupt, Hylla runs to me and pulls me to my feet. She grabs my hand and strides to the door, so fast I can barely keep up at a run._

_"Lala, stop, you're hurting me..." I whine._

_Hylla ignores me and turns to Circe. "Not _all_ men are like that," she tells her, voice trembling. "Not my father. He was a _good_ man. I _won't_ stand to have Reyna remember him that way. I'm... I'm not sure if it's a good idea for her to keep taking lessons from you." With that, she stalks out of the room._

_"Lala, what are you doing?" Hylla doesn't answer as we hurry down the hall. "Lala, you said that Circe was nice yourself! Why did you yell at her?"_

_She spins around and puts her hands on my shoulders, so that we're forced to look straight into each other's eyes. "Because Daddy was a nice man, Reyna. He always played with us and kept us fed and made sure we were warm at night and worked hard to make sure we were happy. Circe would have you forget that, but I won't. I... I can't." Her voice cracks. "Just... trust me, Reyna. I did the right thing."_

_I don't push my sister for more information. She looks too upset. "Okay, Lala. But... can we still get lunch?"_

_At that, Hylla laughs through her tears. "Of course, big girl." She turns her back to me and crouches down so that I can jump on her back. I thread my arms around her neck, grinning, the argument with Circe already a distant memory. I'm too young to worry for long._

_"Let's go get lunch, kiddo." Hylla doesn't mention men again all day. But I notice that she seems worried all over again, and that makes me sad. I really thought she would be happy here..._

* * *

The pain jerked Reyna awake. She cried out involuntarily. Immediately, someone came running to her side. Reyna couldn't help but be surprised to see her. Gwen was supposed to be retired from the legion...

"_Everybody_ was called in," Gwen told her as an explanation. "So many of us are injured... Even we retired demigods came here to fill the ranks."

"But... camp..."

"I know it's dangerous to leave it unprotected," Gwen said, "but we don't have a choice. The real battle is here. We have to save the day here."

Reyna nodded in agreement, then winced as her head spun at the simple movement. "What... happened...?"

Gwen looked at her sympathetically. "You were fighting one of the giants, but a god didn't get there in time. You got its spear through your side, and a whack to the back of your head. We're just lucky Leo saw you go down from his ship. He fired all kinds of missiles at the giant, taking over until Vulcan - Hephaestus... Um, until his dad came and helped him defeat the giant. He protected you from the air and got Will Solace to come help you. If it weren't for him, you would be... well..."

Reyna laughed, a raw sound that made her throat ache. "I... owe my life... to a _Greek_...? To... _two_ Greeks...? Who would have thought..."

Gwen smiled. "Times are changing, Reyna. Someone told me that this kind of cooperation between Greeks and Romans hasn't been seen since... well, ever."

"Who else?" Reyna asked suddenly.

Gwen looked at her, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Here..." she murmured. "Hunters...? Amazons...?"

Gwen understood immediately. "Hylla's here," she told her. "Her Amazons came to help just in time. But she's in the middle of the fray right now. If you want her..."

Reyna shook her head, ignoring the pain this time. "It's... fine..." she said. "Hylla's... where she _needs_ to be... Just... she has to... safe..."

Gwen smiled. "Hylla's a fighter like you, Reyna. I can see the family resemblance, and it's more than just your appearances. She'll be fine."

"When you see her... Tell her... Sorry I was distant... so long..."

Gwen's eyes widened, and she gripped Reyna's hand. "Tell her yourself, Praetor. You _are_ going to get better."

Reyna laughed, even weaker this time. "Doesn't... feel that way."

Gwen glared at her. "Just stop. Stop. Don't think that way. You're _going_ to get better. You're going to be back on your feet and ordering Octavian to shut up in no time."

Reyna squeezed Gwen's hand back. "Thank you for that." Then her eyes drifted shut.

* * *

_The next day, Hylla is called into Circe's office. I don't see her until dinnertime. When she comes back, she is... different. Her eyes seem harder. Whatever innocence she still had, it's gone now._

_"Listen, Reyna," she says as she sits next to me. "What I said about Dad yesterday... It's still true. He _was_ a good man. But I know now..." Her eyes close off. "Daddy was the exception to the rule, okay?" she told me. "We got lucky, having him, even..." She chokes on air. "Even if it was only for a little while. But most men are like the one Circe showed you. They seem nice at first, but they really aren't. The things Circe showed me... The things men do to us..." Hylla closes her eyes, looking upset._

_"Don't cry, Lala!" I say, holding her hand. "Circe keeps us safe."_

_Hylla smiles and looks at me. "I'm not crying, kiddo," she says. "I know Circe keeps us safe. I'm just glad you won't have to face the things Circe showed me."_

* * *

_I'm close to eight years old now. Mascara is no longer a mystery to me. Neither are skin cleansers, foundation, hair products, nail polish, eyeshadow, eyeliner, and lipstick. I'm a true attendant now. I help the older attendants to give our (female) spa guests manicures, pedicures, facials, and makeovers. Without exception, they always ooh and aah at how cute I am. _

_I always giggle at their compliments. I'm still innocent - for now. And I still feel a tiny bit bad whenever I have to feed our male spa guests - the guinea pigs. After all, they're resigned to nasty pellets, while we eat gourmet meals. Aren't they humans like us, even if they've been transfigured into animals? Don't they deserve at least a decent _salad_?_

* * *

_I am nine, like Hylla was when Circe told her the truth about men._

_She shows the same truth to me._

_My innocence is gone._

_But it's for the best. I now know that men cannot be trusted, and knowledge is power. Circe is only protecting me by giving me that knowledge._

_That doesn't stop me from running into Hylla's arms that night. "Men... Boys... They all..." I sob into her shirt._

_"I know, Reyna, I know," Hylla says softly, rocking me back and forth. "Don't worry. This island keeps us safe."_

_Eventually, I dry my tears and look at Hylla solemnly. "I will never trust a man," I tell her. "Not after what Circe showed me." _

_I only wish I had kept that promise._

* * *

_I am ten-and-a-half. Circe tells me that I have the makings of a first-class spa attendant, and that soon I may even be able to give spa treatments on my own, without help. _

_I always glow at her praise, but I don't giggle now. After being shown a glimpse of the real world, I'm not a little kid anymore._

_And I don't mind feeding the guinea pigs now either. I don't even feel a tiny bit bad that they used to be humans. After all, the things that Circe showed me last year have proved to me that those men in that cage - Blackbeard and his pirates - well, Circe was being _generous_ by letting them stay alive as guinea pigs. I would have tortured them for days... and then killed them. Maybe that's just my mom's blood - Bellona, Roman goddess of war; Circe told me when I was eight - speaking up again. _

_Still, I think Blackbeard should be _grateful_ for Circe's kindness. He could be facing much worse now. The way he tries to bite me when I feed him convinces me that he doesn't feel the same way, though. The piggish pirate isn't even _vaguely_ happy with his living conditions._

* * *

People filed by her cot at all hours of the day and night, in between her battles and theirs. Sometimes she was conscious enough to talk to them, and sometimes she was too delirious to know that they were there. But Gwen always made sure to let her know that they had visited - that they had cared.

Bobby. Dakota. Frank. Hazel. Countless other legionnaires. Leo. Percy. Will Solace, many times. Leo again, making her laugh even though she felt like crying. Hazel again, cheering her up with a funny story about Frank as a weasel. Even Annabeth, promising her that things were going well, and the gods really were helping now. They really had a chance.

But the one boy who once would have been at her bedside day and night, keeping her spirits high and her happiness higher... He never showed. Reyna knew that he was busy fighting - _everyone_ was busy fighting - but that was no excuse. _Percy_ had come to see her, and he was the hardest worker out of all of them. He acted like he had to fight just as well as he had during the Battle for Manhattan - never mind the fact that he no longer bore the mark of Achilles. Forget that he was still half-exhausted from his time in Tartarus. He didn't care that he hadn't slept in two days. He fought with a strength and intensity that surpassed everyone else (or so the others told her, since he was far too modest to admit it himself). But even _he_ had said hello on his _only_ break - the break that had lasted less than an hour.

No, Jason Grace had no excuse. Other than that he was a coward.

* * *

**Any thoughts?**


	2. Capture, Revenge, and Opinions

**Thank you so much for the reviews, guys! Your support is always appreciated! :)**

**Disclaimer: I'm not disclosing my name on this website, but I can give you one clue. It is most certainly not Rick Riordan.**

* * *

**Capture, Revenge, and A Difference of Opinion**

* * *

_I'm twelve now. C.C.'s Spa and Resort is gone. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase caused the destruction of the one place where Hylla and I were sure we would be safe. The pirates escaped. Many of the other spa attendants - our friends - were killed. The rest escaped to the-gods-know-where. If I ever had any delusions about men, they've been shattered now. Blackbeard has enjoyed shattering them. _

_Hylla and I don't try to fight back, though. Not now. Not when we're weak from the small rations they toss us every now again. Not when we're weaponless. We're children of Bellona, and we know to wait for our chance. Because our chance is coming. I can feel it in the dank air that seems to smother me in our cell at night. I can taste it in each bitter meal. One day soon, Hylla and I _will_ escape. And then we will have our revenge._

* * *

_I don't regret our time with Circe. It kept us safe, and it taught us important lessons about men. But I wish that the resort hadn't made us so soft. The only things I learned were lessons in beauty and simple magic - lessons that abandon me every day, as the harsh reality of our situation and basic survival skills replace that frivolous knowledge. I never learned how to hold a sword or dagger. I never built up more strength than was necessary to carry my makeup tote around the island._

_Now, though, that's all changed. Hylla managed to hide a dagger in her waistband while pretending to clean the pirates' rusted armory, and we use it to practice for long hours at night. When I'm not testing out strikes, blocks, swipes, slashes, and parries, I'm using up the meager energy I gained from our meals to get stronger. The thin layer of fat that was considered feminine at C.C.'s abandoned me a long time ago. My entire body is hard muscle, wound up like a jack-in-the-box. I'm just waiting until the music's right - and then I'll spring out of my prison._

* * *

_Hylla was able to steal two swords from the armory this time - one for each of us, and the dagger as back-up. We're finally properly equipped. The music's right. _

* * *

_Escape and revenge are bittersweet. It was fun to see the terrified looks in the pirates' faces as we came out of our prison and destroyed them, ignoring their cries for mercy. I don't feel even a twinge of guilt. After all, they did as much to our friends. Besides, they're from hundreds of years ago. They don't belong in this world anyway. Their time should have come a long time ago. And on top of it all, they're men. I spill the blood of my captors with the satisfying knowledge that our mentor, Circe, would have done the same in our place._

_The bitterness comes after we take the sturdiest lifeboat and set fire to the ship as we leave. We paddle to a safe distance away and watch the ship go up in flames. There are no survivors - except for Hylla and me. _

_When I think that, my stomach lurches. I retch over the side of our lifeboat. I'm _twelve_. Most girls my age are giggling about fashion trends and swooning over boys. I just helped kill fifteen men. And... and did all of them really deserve it? I gag again. What about that pirate that slipped me an extra ration two weeks ago? What about the one who stitched up our backs after Blackbeard whipped us? Did _they_ have to die?_

_Hylla looks at me worriedly, but she can't move to comfort me in our flimsy lifeboat. She just paddles to shore silently while I shiver, too miserable and guilty to help._

_Finally, we reach dry land - some sort of sandy beach edged by tall grasses. I practically fall out of the boat and land on my face in the sand, moaning. Hylla hops out and comes to comfort me. "Reyna, what's wrong? Are you seasick? But we've been in at sea for a month... Although I suppose a lifeboat rocks a bit more than a ship..."_

_I roll over and sit up, wiping my mouth with my filthy sleeve and wishing I could rinse the taste of bile out of my mouth. "It's not the lifeboat, Hylla." I look up at her. "You mean... what we did... You don't feel even a _little _guilty? A little... repulsed? I mean... Hylla, _fifteen people_!"_

_Hylla stares at me like I'm some sort of alien. "Reyna... They were _men_. Don't you remember what Circe said? Men aren't _people_, Reyna. They're animals. Besides, you know what they did to us. How can you feel guilty after that?"_

_I shake my head. "One of them healed us, Hylla. One of them snuck us extra food. Those two, at least, didn't deserve my sword. Those two didn't deserve death."_

_Hylla doesn't seem to understand what I mean. "They were _men_," she repeats._

_I'm too sick to keep arguing. Instead, I look around. It's nothing like Circe's island, where the beaches were always clean white sand, the weather was always perfect, and all of the colors were _sharper_, somehow. Here the shore is speckled with trash, I can see storm clouds in the distance, and the grasses seem dull gray rather than green. Even Hylla looks washed out to me - although it could just be that she's malnourished. I probably look the same way. "Where _are_ we?" I ask. _

_Hylla shrugs. "If I had to guess...? The United States, maybe on the coast of Florida or Mississippi." She hauls me to my feet. "Let's explore and try to find civilization, okay? Then maybe we can find out for sure."_

_I hesitate. "Hylla, we have dirt on our clothes."_

_"So?"_

_"Correction: we have dirt and _blood_ on our clothes. I don't think we should find civilization while looking like this."_

_A hint of a smile graces Hylla's face, and for a moment, I can almost believe that we're nine and five again, still mostly innocent. Then she speaks. "What do you suggest we do, Reyna? We don't have any changes of clothes. We don't have any money."_

_"Yes, but we _do_ have the spells Circe taught us," I say. "Come on, Hylla. It was a _spa_. Didn't she teach you, I don't know, a laundry spell or something?"_

_Hylla laughs. It's a harsh sound in the quiet, reminding me how much harsher our spirits have gotten in the short month since the spa was destroyed. "A laundry spell, Reyna? After everything we've been through, do you really think I would remember something like that?"_

_"I don't know!" I say, raising my voice. "I'm just trying to be helpful! Don't you think people will look at us funny if we walk through their city plastered with filth and looking half-dead? Don't you think they'll be afraid to help us? Don't you think they might even try to turn us in to child services or some stupid government agency? Do you _want_ us to be separated from each other?"_

_At that, Hylla's eyes grow hard, like black obsidian. "_No one_ is going to take you from me, Reyna," she says fiercely. "No one."_

* * *

_In the end, Hylla manages to cast a spell that gets the worst stains out of our clothes, and we scrub the blood and dirt from our skin with seawater. Then we find a path that leads us to a road. The road takes us to a highway. And the highway brings us a car with a family that is kind enough to take two random kids to the nearest big city, which happens to be New Orleans. And that's how Hylla and I find out that we aren't in Mississippi or Florida after all, but in Louisiana._

* * *

It took two days, but Reyna was finally well enough to stand. Gwen tried to convince her to take it easy - to help tend the wounded or strategize from the sidelines - but Reyna knew she belonged in battle. So on the afternoon of the third day of the Battle of Greece, she strapped on her armor, retrieved her dagger and spear, and called her dogs. Then she strode out of the infirmary and found Annabeth, who was crouched over a map that she'd spread on the ground.

"Where do you need me?" she asked the daughter of Athena.

Annabeth looked up, evidently startled to be confronted by her. "Reyna!" she exclaimed. "I had no idea you were up and about!"

Reyna managed to smile. "I wasn't about to lounge around in the infirmary while a perfectly good fight was going on right outside my door."

Annabeth seemed too exhausted to laugh, but she returned Reyna's comment with a wry smile of her own. "I understand completely." She looked back at the battle plan. As Reyna watched, the dots that signified monsters and demigods shifted magically. She let out a noise of surprise.

"Magic item?" she asked.

"Magic item," Annabeth confirmed. Reyna eyed the map critically, frowning. Black meant monsters. Green dots showed giants. Purple meant Romans, obviously, orange dots were Greek, and gold were gods. Purple and orange dots flashed in the sea of black, but they were fighting a hard battle. And the green dots were injuring more demigods every minute.

Something else changed, and Annabeth cursed. "Two of us just got put out of commission. It looks like Frank's holding out for now, but they're completely surrounded by black."

Reyna shifted the strap of her dagger holster and tightened her grip on her spear. "Sounds like that's where you need me, then."

Annabeth shook her head, still studying the map. "We need you everywhere, Reyna. But that's a good start. Be careful; you'll have to fight your way through half of Gaea's army fir - Styx! Styx! Damn it!" She cursed a few more times and stood, rolling the map and shoving it in her bag. Before Reyna could ask what had happened, Annabeth's dagger was already in her hand. "Percy, you idiot, why did you have to get yourself boxed in by two giants and forty monsters at the same time! Styx, damn you!" And just like that, Annabeth was gone.

Reyna stared after the daughter of Athena for a split-second before shaking her head and running off into the fight. No matter what Percy was facing, Frank still needed her help. And she wasn't about to let _any_ of her legionnaires down.

* * *

"Reyna?" Frank said in amazement as Reyna appeared next to him, slashing apart a couple of monsters as she did so. Her dogs joined in the fight as well, tearing monsters into shreds with their metallic teeth and claws. "I thought you were hurt!"

"Well, I got better, Zhang," she said with gritted teeth, slamming her spear into the stomach of a Cyclops. It crumbled. "What happened?"

He shot a couple arrows into a gryphon, then ran off and retrieved them so he could shoot them into a hellhound. "Arnold... Carlos..." He gestured to the two legionnaires lying unconscious behind him. "Got taken from behind... I saw it but was too far away..." He turned into a grizzly bear and took down a few more monsters with a couple swipes of his claws. Then he turned human again and launched a couple more volleys of arrows, glaring at the world. "Came as fast as I could, but they were already down, so I'm just making sure none of the monsters can hurt them worse."

Reyna nodded. "Sounds good. I've got your back, Zhang." She took care of a few gryphons herself.

He flashed her a grateful smile. "And I've got yours." He dodged a swipe of an empousa's sword and wrenched it away from her, using the monster's own weapon to take her down. Reyna thrust her spear into the armor of a small drakon. It killed the drakon, but it also broke off the point of her spear, separating the Imperial gold from the wooden shaft. She cursed and threw the stick into the monster in front of her, knocking it backwards while she pulled out her knife. She sprinted forward to take the monster down and then fell back to stand behind Frank again.

"This is endless," she observed.

Frank nodded glumly, killing a few more monsters. "We need to catch a break."

Reyna laughed harshly. "You mean get lucky? Since when do demigods have luck?" She paused to dodge basilisk venom. "Other than bad luck, I mean."

The basilisk shot venom at her again. This time, a few drops splattered her arm and burned angry red blisters into her skin. She cursed some more.

"What is it?" Frank asked. He swiped at the monster in front of him with the empousa's sword, giving him an extra second so he could turn to Reyna. "What happened?"

She waved him off. "Basilisk venom. No big deal."

"Basilisks?" Reyna pulled him to the side as more venom sprayed their way. "Oh, duh. I'll take care of it." Before Reyna could let go of his arm, it disappeared. Frank had just turned himself into a weasel.

Reyna hid a smile. She still couldn't believe that an animal that small could scare a basilisk away.

Then a dracaena slashed into Reyna's arm, and her smile vanished. There was nothing amusing about a hopeless battle. They had been fighting for ten minutes without a single sign of reinforcements. She couldn't keep up this level of battle forever. Her side was already beginning to ache. And the horde of monsters was only thickening.

A Laistrygonian giant threw a cannonball at her, and Reyna barely managed to dodge. It grazed her thigh, burning her skin. She had to throw her dagger at it before it could heft another cannonball. If it aimed for Arnold or Carlos next, they wouldn't be able to get out of the way.

Frank reappeared at her side just in time to tackle her to the ground, keeping her from getting her skull smashed in by a Cyclops's club. "You're weaponless, Reyna," he said.

"Yeah, Centurion, you think I didn't notice?" she asked sarcastically, jumping to her feet and pulling the club away from said Cyclops. She bashed in _his_ brain with it and then hurled it at an Earthborn, smashing in the monster's entire face. It melted into the ground, but three more took its place.

"No, I mean, take this sword." He forced the blade into her hands. "You know how to use one, right?"

She scoffed. "I'm a daughter of Bellona, Zhang. What do you think?" But she felt uncomfortable with the blade in her hands. It brought back too many memories. As part of her brain went into autopilot - slice, stab, dodge, parry, attack - the rest of her remembered.

* * *

_I wake up, shivering, my hands clasped around air like I'm still wielding the sword that killed fifteen people. _

_Instantly, Hylla's by my side, pushing my sweaty hair back from my face. I feel like I can barely breathe. The air conditioner in this crummy hotel room broke sometime during the night, so that my covers are oppressive rather than comforting. I kick them off and gasp for air. The humidity is what brought the nightmares tonight. It feels just as hot as the summer day when we killed fifteen people, even though the days are supposed to be melting into autumn right now. I've heard of Indian summers, but this is ridiculous. It's ninety degrees at midnight in the middle of September._

_"What happened, Reyna? Are you okay?"_

_I sit up, pulling my hair into a soaking wet ponytail. My fingers are slick with sweat. I imagine that it's not sweat, but pirate blood, and feel sick all over again. "The ship..." I mutter, hugging my sides. "Why did we kill everyone on the ship?"_

_My words are like buttons that turn off Hylla's sympathy. "Not this again," she says sharply, running a hand through her hair. I notice absently that I look more and more like her every day. Once, that observation would have made me happy. I used to want nothing more than to be just like my big sister, Hylla. Now I'm not so sure._

_"Listen, Reyna," she says with exaggerated patience. "We've been over this. Those pirates would have killed us, if the situation were reversed. They were already killing us slowly by feeding us so little. We had to do something. We had no choice. You don't need to keep feeling guilty. You did nothing wrong."_

But I keep thinking about the man who healed us_, I want to say. _He had kind eyes, twinkling blue like ocean water. His eyes looked so betrayed as I slashed him across the throat. He didn't deserve what we did to him. He wouldn't have caused any trouble. We could have let him escape. We... we should have let him escape. _I know Hylla won't listen to me, though. So all I say is, "I'm sorry I woke you, Hylla. Go back to sleep."_

_She hesitates. "Sweet dreams, all right, kiddo?"_

_I almost want to laugh at her choice of words. It's been years since I've been a "kiddo". Hylla doesn't see that I've grown up. She doesn't realize that I'm not the five-year-old girl who washed up on Circe's island. That girl blindly believed every word Circe told her. I don't - not anymore. Hylla told me herself that our father was a good man. The man on the pirate ship was also good. If they were both good, then who was to say that there weren't more good men out there? Who was to say that the man who gave us extra food wasn't a good man either? _

_A new thought makes me grow cold. How many men did we kill that didn't deserve it?_

* * *

"Reyna," someone said. "Reyna."

She jerked into awareness, realizing that Frank had been calling her name several times. "What?"

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Reyna, we've been fighting for hours. _You've_ been fighting for hours. The army just retreated. You can relax." She turned to him, but it was like seeing him through warped colored glass. Everything was bathed in red. He shook his head in amazement. "I thought _I_ was fighting well, but you were like a machine. You took down a fifth of the army single-handedly."

"I... I did?" she asked. "I don't really remember any of it."

He raised his eyebrows. "Really? Well, after about ten more minutes of fighting, you told me to get some people to carry Arnold and Carlos to safely. I didn't want to leave you by yourself, but you told me..." He grinned. "You told me you weren't alone; you had your dogs. So I left. By the time I came back, you were covered in scratches and bruises, but you didn't even seem to notice. You were still fighting. You barely even noticed when we took Arnold and Carlos to the infirmary. I came and helped you after that, but..." He shook his head again. "You didn't even need my help. Nothing slowed you down. Honestly, I think the army retreated because it was scared of you, not because it was sunset, like Gaea claimed. We have to keep watch through the night, obviously, but I think we'll be okay. Gaea's forces have to regroup just as much as ours do."

Reyna was still half in shock. Everything was still red. She ached all over. Her knees felt weak. She could believe that she had been fighting for hours. Her body was certainly exhausted enough. "How's Percy?" she managed to ask. "Annabeth said..."

"Percy's fine," he assured her. "Athena came and helped him kill the giants before Annabeth could even reach him." He grinned some more. Reyna thought he seemed nearly hysterical, but she didn't blame him. He was probably still amazed that he was even alive. She felt the same way.

"Athena...?" she said. "A son of Poseidon? Working _together_?"

"Exactly," he laughed. "I couldn't believe it when I heard either."

She frowned, still having trouble processing everything. "So Percy's fine," she said slowly. "Annabeth's fine. What about the others? My sister Hylla? Gwen? Dakota? Bobby? Leo? Nico? Haz-?" Her frown deepened, and she turned to Frank in sudden concern. "Frank, why wasn't Hazel fighting with you? Did something happen? Is she okay?"

"She's fine too," he promised. "Everyone you mentioned is fine. She had just gotten called away to help some other people when you showed up." He frowned too. "She was fighting with us at one point. You really don't remember anything?"

Reyna shrugged. "No. Yes. I don't know." She realized that she was still clutching the sword and instantly let it drop out of her hands. It hit the ground with a thud. "Everything's a blur. I was just focused on..." The ache in her side was slowly turning into a fire, muddling her concentration. "Um, I was focused... on..."

"Reyna? Are you okay? You seem a little... off."

Reyna barely heard Frank. For some reason, her legs had stopped supporting her. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed. Frank barely managed to keep her upright.

"Okay, you're exhausted," he told her. "You haven't taken a break for anything. You need to drink some water, eat, and then sleep."

Reyna must have misheard the order that Frank told her to do things in. Before she could either eat _or_ drink, she passed out.

* * *

_"Shut up, Hylla! Just _shut up_!"_

_"_What_ did you say to me?" Hylla's voice is dangerously soft._

_I look at her stubbornly. "You can say what you like, Hylla. I know that not all men are bad." My eyes are pleading with her. "You used to believe that not all men were bad yourself. Don't you remember? That day when Circe was teaching me to read, and you stood up to her and pulled me out of the room? Don't you remember the speech you gave? What happened?"_

_"The _truth_ happened, Reyna," Hylla says angrily. "The _truth_. You're blind, little sister! Don't you remember the things Circe showed us? Don't you remember what the pirates did to us? How can you _still_ feel conflicted about what we did, after all that?"_

_"I _do_ remember what the pirates did to us!" I shout. "I remember all of it! The bad things - and the _good_ things! Some of them were _kind_, Hylla! And we killed them! We're stone-cold _murderers_!"_

_She freezes. "That's a line you just crossed, Reyna," she says quietly, quivering with anger. She stares me straight in the eye, and I glare right back at her. "We're not murderers. We're _not_."_

I'm not so sure_, I think, but I don't say that. I'm tired of arguing with her. "We both had the same dream, Hylla," I tell her. "There are two places for us to go. There are the Amazons, and there is the legion. You say you want to stay with the Amazons, but I don't want to live in a place where men are slaves. It would be like undergoing Circe's brainwashing all over again. I'm going to find the legion. I'm sorry, Hylla."_

_Her eyes widen. "No, no, Reyna, wait! Don't leave. Reyna... We can travel together, at least at first! We're in Louisiana. The Amazons are in Washington, and the legion is in California. We can head west together. We _should_ head west together. It's safer. Reyna, please, be reasonable..."_

_I ignore her and throw my sword on the bed of the hotel room. "You can keep both of those," I say. "They just remind me of the blood on our hands." I do take the dagger, though. I need _something _to defend myself against the monsters, and at least I never killed anyone with this knife. _

_"Reyna, don't leave!" Hylla's practically begging me now. "You _can't_. We have to stick together. We can work it out. Siblings fight - it's _normal_ - but we don't have to _separate_ because of it. Please, stay. Please. I... I have to protect you."_

_That's the last straw. "I'm nearly thirteen!" I shout at her. "I don't need protecting! I'm just as good a fighter as you, and you know it!" I calm my voice, make it as cold as ice. "Besides, this is worse than a normal fight. We've been disagreeing about this for _weeks_. It's come between us." I stalk to the door and put my hand on the doorknob - but then I turn back to Hylla for one last jibe. "You once told me no one would take me from you, Hylla, and I guess that's true. No one _took_ me from you. I left."_


	3. Shoplifting, Knife Throwing, and Bonds

**Broke 5,000 words with this chapter! Okay, so I was at 4,999... But with the chapter title, it breaks 5,000, so I'm going to claim that anyway. ;)**

**Reviews are the best, guys! I really love getting them, and I always respond personally to every review I get! (Unless it's a guest review, in which case that's kind of impossible. :P) So review, please! It will make me happy. :)**

**Disclaimer: I own the plot, and that's about it... Oh, wait. I own Reyna's last name, seeing as RR didn't think she was important enough to give her one... :P**

* * *

**Shoplifting, Knife Throwing, and Broken Bonds**

* * *

Reyna drifted awake. She couldn't believe how much better she felt - her stomach didn't burn with pain, her head wasn't pounding, and she didn't ache all over. It seemed miraculous.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a pair of dark eyes - dark like hers - staring down at her with thinly veiled concern. "Hylla!" she exclaimed.

At the same time, Hylla yelled, "Reyna!"

Reyna felt arms wrap around her in a hug. It hurt a little, but she didn't complain. "Reyna, I was so worried," Hylla said. "This entire battle you've been in and out of the infirmary..."

"Mostly in," Reyna said dryly.

"...and I haven't been able to drop in and see you nearly enough times." She sighed in relief, seemingly drinking in the sight of her younger sister. "I was so worried," she said again.

Reyna shifted uncomfortably as her memory flooded back in full color. "Well, I'm fine, as you can see. I actually feel a lot better now."

Hylla smiled. "I'm so glad to hear that."

"So how's the battle going?" Reyna asked, hoping to move the subject off of her. "How bad are things?"

Hylla's smile vanished. "They could've been better," she admitted. "Some of the gods are having Greek/Roman schizophrenic attacks again, and they keep having to drop out of battle. Besides that..." A shadow cloaked her face in pain. "Well, we've had a lot of casualties. Most of the people who have been put out of commission are just injured - thank the gods for that - but some..." The shadow condensed into a cloud. Reyna didn't need to hear any more. She knew what Hylla meant.

Reyna cursed. "The seven _closed_ the Doors of Death. Why is it that Gaea still seems to have an endless army?"

Hylla shrugged. "She must have sent almost all of her forces into this world before the seven could get to Epirus. It's not their fault - it's not anyone's fault - but the monsters just keep coming. We've all been fighting for four days, and there's _still_ a sea of black heading our way, if we look at Annabeth's map. It's going to be rough, Reyna."

"We're demigods," Reyna said dryly. "What's new?"

Hylla mouth curved up at the corners, but the smile held no trace of humor. "You're right. 'Rough' is pretty standard for us."

They sat there in silence for a while. There wasn't much Reyna could add to that. Eventually, though, she spoke again. "So, is there fighting going on right now?"

Hylla shook her head. "We're getting a thirty-minute reprieve, but I'm not too excited about it. All that means is that Gaea's cooking up something _really_ nasty to hit us with next."

Reyna laughed, but it was more an expression of disgust than a burst of amusement. She hesitated. "Well, when the fighting starts up again, I'm going back."

"I expected nothing less from you, Reyna," Hylla said. Her smile seemed nearly genuine this time. "But when you do..." She paused, and then pulled something out of her belt and held it out to Reyna. It was her Imperial gold dagger. "You might want to have this."

Reyna's mouth practically dropped open. She took her dagger back in shock. "I thought I'd lost this for good," she whispered. "How did you...?"

Hylla looked down. "I... I know you don't like fighting with swords. They bring back... um... Well, I figured you wouldn't be completely comfortable fighting with anything else besides your dagger, so as soon as the reprieve started, I went out to find it." She hesitated. "Reyna, why is it that you threw the sword away, but kept the dagger?"

Reyna knew exactly what Hylla was talking about. She answered slowly, choosing her words with care. "The sword reminded me of our mistakes. The deaths of all the pirates were unnecessary. We didn't need them _all_ to die for us to escape. The sword symbolized regret for me, I guess. And it also reminded me of our differences of opinion - why we didn't get along after we escaped. Why we were estranged for so many years." She smiled slowly. "But this dagger... When I see it, I think of training in that hellhole of a prison cell."

Hylla raised her eyebrows. "And you _like_ remembering that?"

Reyna shrugged. "We were malnourished, yes. We were weak and naive, yes. But we were also working together then. We had a common goal, and we were both sisters and best friends. And by the time you stole those swords from the armory, we were stronger, healthier, and closer than ever. The circumstances - to put it bluntly, they sucked. But the bond we forged in that ship was..." Reyna hesitated. "Well, I miss it."

Neither of them spoke for a long time. Then softly, Hylla said, "I miss it too." She looked at Reyna. "I love you, Reyna, and I know you're strong. I know you're an amazing fighter, and a wonderful leader, and I'm proud of you. But can you honestly blame me for wanting you to stay young and inexperienced? You've seen too much of the world already, Reyna. I don't think Dad would have wanted that."

"Maybe," she said. "But there's no other option. I'm a demigod, Hylla. No demigod has an easy life. We _all_ face too much of the world. But... you know, I hardly remember Dad. But I think if there's one thing he _definitely_ would have wanted, it'd be us. _Together_. As sisters."

She flushed red. She _really_ didn't do talking - especially not sappy, "let's-make-up" talking.

But when she finally managed to look her sister in the eyes, she was met with a sparkle that had been missing ever since they left C.C.'s Spa and Resort all those years ago.

"Then let's fight at the end of this reprieve," Hylla said happily. "Together. As sisters."

Reyna smiled. "I'd like that."

Finally, one of Reyna's broken bonds had been mended. She trusted her sister again, and Hylla trusted her. Her current memories of her sister wouldn't be the only way Reyna would remember her. They would forge new memories - happier ones - together.

But some bonds, Reyna knew, were beyond mending. Some things were unforgiveable. As Reyna and Hylla waited in comfortable silence for the end of the reprieve, Reyna remembered.

* * *

_It's been weeks since I left Hylla, and I've finally made it to California. But that's as far as my dreams take me. I have no idea where to go from here._

_Sometimes I wonder if I should have stuck with Hylla like she suggested - if we should have traveled together for a while before separating. But I always convince myself that leaving was for the best. These weeks without my older sister have taught me independence, self-reliance, and confidence. I don't need anyone to stay safe. I don't need anyone to feel whole. I have myself, and that's all I need. At least, that's what I tell myself._

_The monsters have followed me the entire journey. Of course they have. I'm claimed. I'm powerful. I'm old for a demigod without a home. My scent _has_ to be strong. But honestly, the monsters should know better than to mess with me. I'm powerful for a reason. They come at me in packs, but even armed with just a dagger, they can't stop me. The only records of my battles are piles of gold dust, discarded spoils of war, and (occasionally) a few scratches._

_I figure that even if I never find the camp from my dreams, I could survive pretty well on my own. I haven't done a bad job so far. The only thing that concerns me is food. I buy what I can and steal what I have no money for, but it always makes me feel guilty. It's not fair to the mortal shopkeepers, but what can I do? I have to eat. And few places - if any - are willing to hire thirteen-year-olds. Besides, it isn't like I'd last long at a job anyway. The monsters would undoubtedly find me and destroy my place of employment. So I rationalize. I take only what I need, and I chase away the guilt. After all, stealing isn't as bad as murder. And if I can harden myself from that, I shouldn't grow a conscience for shoplifting._

* * *

_"Dakota! Watch out!" _

_I freeze, dropping the plastic bag filled with the items from my last grocery raid. Mortals rarely enter these woods. So who's screaming?_

_I hear a hiss, and lots of cursing. Metal on metal - the unmistakable clash of swords - and the slice of sword through flesh. I hesitate for a second - the voices sound male - before hiding my bag behind a tree and running towards the noise, disgusted with myself. Just because they're male doesn't mean that they're like Blackbeard and his pirates. From the sounds of things, they're fighting monsters like me. It would be selfish if I didn't help them._

_Then I've run all the way to the clearing where the boys are fighting, and all thoughts of ethics drop out of my head._

_I've been attacked by groups of up to five monsters before, and I thought that was a lot. But these three guys are up against a group of at least twenty. The hissing comes from the snake women Circe told me were called dracaenae, and the swords are being used by girls with vampire fangs known as empousae. And there are plenty of other monsters that I can't name._

_One of the dracaenae uses her trident to stab a boy with brown hair and green eyes in the arm, and he drops his sword, cursing. A blond boy jumps in and blocks the trident before the next blow can catch the brown-haired boy in the back, but it's hard to provide leverage for a trident strike with a sword. The blond boy is losing ground. It's time for me to step in._

_I run forward, but I can tell I won't be fast enough. Instead of trying to take down the snake woman in combat, I try something I've never done before. I pull my arm back and flick my wrist forward, sending my knife spinning. As it flies through the air, I pray to all the gods that it hits its target._

_It does. The knife sinks deep into the dracaena's armor, piercing straight through her scales and into her back. In the next five seconds, I'm there, yanking the dagger out and finishing her off. She explodes into golden dust, and the two guys become covered in glitter. They stare at me, completely shocked. "Who... Who..."_

_I shake strands of hair out of my face and raise my eyebrows at them. "There's still a battle going on," I remind them. "Your friend's outnumbered. Are we going to fight, or what?"_

_The blond boy recovers first. He stands and stretches out his hand to me. "My name's Jason," he says. "Jason Grace. And I'm pretty sure you just saved my life."_

_I throw my knife in his direction. He ducks reflexively, suddenly wary, but I wasn't aiming for him, and I don't miss. The blade kills a monster that was sneaking up behind him. "I'm Reyna," I tell him off-handedly as I run and retrieve my dagger again, ignoring his offered hand. "And I'm pretty sure I just saved your lives _twice_. Now are we going to help your other friend or not? There are still eighteen monsters surrounding us, here."_

_Jason grins. "Whatever you say, Reyna." He gets a better grip on his sword and charges into battle. I follow him, rolling my eyes. _

_I'll admit that I'm a tiny bit impressed when he kills five of the monsters aiming for his friend in less than a minute. _

_Of course, he's more impressed when I kill seven in less than thirty seconds._

_Between the two of us, plus his other friends, the horde of monsters doesn't stand a chance._

* * *

_I find out later that the brown-haired boy's name is Bobby, and the other boy, whom I didn't get a good look at before, is Dakota. Bobby and Jason seem relatively normal, but Dakota is... strange. His mouth is stained bright red, his eyes are slightly lopsided, and his curly black hair contrasts with his mouth to make the rest of his skin seem paler than it really is. In addition, he acts _odd_, constantly chugging something out of a canteen and acting wild for no apparent reason. When I ask Jason about it, he tells me that Dakota, as a son of Bacchus, is addicted to extra-sugary Kool-Aid that makes him a little crazy. But Jason promises that when it matters, Dakota has always had Jason's back. Remembering the way Dakota fought earlier, I can't help but agree, so I reserve judgment on the strange boy with the red mouth._

_I could just accept their thanks and walk away, but something urges me to stick around for a bit. After all, they're three demigods, working together and traveling with a purpose. Part of me can't help but hope that they're from the camp in my dreams, or at the very least, that they're headed for the same goal. They could be useful allies. And so I'm still with the three boys by the time night falls. And I even discard all of Circe's teachings and settle in the same clearing as them for the night. _

_Jason rummages around in his backpack, making a face. As he searches, he tells me, "We brought supplies from home," _wherever that is_, I think, "but all our food is cold, and most of it is tasteless."_

_I raise my eyebrows. "Well, I have some real food about half a mile away from here. You want it?"_

_I see Dakota's mouth practically watering. He takes a gulp from his canteen to calm his excitement, but it just makes it worse. I stifle a grin. Better not to show the weakness of emotion around three people I hardly know. _

_Bobby's eyes are wide. "Could you... I mean, do you mind..."_

_I stand gracefully and sheathe my dagger at my side. "I'll get it."_

_Jason stands too. "You want me to come with you? Who knows how many monsters are around here-"_

_I laugh, more in derision than amusement. "Jason, I've been on my own for weeks before you guys showed up. I think I can handle a couple monsters." And I leave without another word, feeling the astonished eyes of three boys on my back._

* * *

_At first when I return, I'm worried that they'll ask about the origins of their dinner. After all, I don't know if they would be as forgiving of shoplifting as I am towards myself. __But they accept the food from my bag happily and without questions, which I'm grateful for. I can't say that it surprises me, though. They're three hungry teenage boys - or nearly teenagers, anyway. They don't care where the food comes from, as long as it's delicious, and there's plenty of it. It's almost comical, really._

_Once they're done stuffing their faces (I ate too, but with a bit more poise than them), Jason looks at me. "So what's your story, Reyna? Why have you been traveling alone for so long? And how'd you end up in the middle of the woods?"_

_Any kind of personal questions set me on my guard, and his are some of the most personal I've ever heard. I glare at him, and he shrinks back slightly. "It's none of your business."_

_He holds up his hands in a placating gesture. "Okay, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. I was just making conversation."_

_"Mm-hm," I say. "Well, make conversation about something less private."_

_So he does. He jabbers on about funny things his friends have done (Dakota makes appearances in more than a few of Jason's stories), and Dakota and Bobby chime in with details every now and then. As I listen silently, I can't help but be amazed by how many friends Jason has, all apparently the same age as him. I was the youngest girl on Circe's island. The next youngest person was Hylla, three years older than me. There were a few other kids at the spa, but not many. We had a few friends, but not many. I never thought it mattered - I had Hylla and that was all I needed - but now I wonder. If I had known more people my age, would things have been different? Would I be more open about my past?_

_No, I decide. The things I've seen - the things I've _done_ - would make anyone closed-off. I don't think having a few close friends early on would have changed the way I am now. In fact, they might have made things worse. I might have had to see even more people I loved die at the hands of Blackbeard's pirates._

_It's better to be guarded, I realize. Better not to trust. I trusted Hylla, and she disappointed me. I trusted Circe, and she filled my head with lies. I will tolerate these boys I've just met, but I won't trust them. Trust is dangerous. Protecting my heart from the world is the only way to keep it from breaking._

* * *

_I only wish I had kept that resolve. I wish Jason Grace hadn't had the nerve to weasel his way into gaining my trust._

* * *

"Reyna? Hello? Reyna?"

She snapped back to the present, noticing Hylla's hand waving in front of her face. "Sorry. I was... thinking. What is it?"

Her sister's face looked grim. "The reprieve is over, Reyna. And things are worse than ever."

In seconds, Reyna was on her feet, dagger in hand, rushing out of the infirmary tent. Hylla was close behind her. The scene that greeted her... Well, it didn't exactly _greet_ her. Really, it rammed into her with a cruel smile and an evil burst of laughter, as if Gaea was personally mocking her about the hopelessness of the situation. But however it met Reyna's eyes... It was _bad_.

A huge fight was going on in the background, the remainder of Gaea's army attacking with renewed force. But Reyna barely noticed that commotion. She was far more focused on the picture in the foreground.

Her first thought was that Cerberus had escaped from the Underworld. But this dog had _two_ heads, not three, and a serpent for a tail. Besides, Cerberus was controlled by Pluto - Hades - whomever. He wouldn't be attacking everyone so viciously and remorselessly.

The problem - well, one of the problems, anyway - was that technically, he had three mouths. That meant he could take down three demigods at the same time, which in turn meant that he was _really_ hard to beat. He was surrounded by a circle of legionnaires and Greeks, working together, but even they weren't enough. Already their ring was scattering as people dodged giant canine teeth and poisonous snake fangs. Reyna gulped. "That's not good."

But then Hylla grabbed her hand and pointed in another direction. Reyna followed her hand and stared. Percy and Annabeth were fighting together, back to back, holding off an army of... horses? But... wasn't Neptune/Poseidon the _god_ of horses? Shouldn't they be _allying_ with Percy? Then Reyna caught a snippet of what Percy was shouting.

"Didn't we go over this last time? I told you to _stop eating_ humans, not to _attack_ them!" He listened for a couple seconds, and then growled, "I don't care what in Hades Geryon told you! We had a deal, you idiots! A... freaking... _deal_!" He listened some more. "Oh, I'm going to do something a hell of a lot worse than spray you with _seawater_, monsters." And he killed a couple of the horses - but more were still closing in. Reyna had no idea what Percy had been ranting about, but she could get an explanation later. Now, they needed help.

She looked hopelessly at Hylla. "I know we said we'd fight together, but..."

"We've got to split up and help both groups," Hylla said, nodding. "I'll take the dogs, you help Percy and Annabeth. Just... stay safe, all right?"

"The same to you," Reyna said with a sad smile. "We'll come help as soon as we can."

Without another word, they separated, Reyna slashing through horses as she came to stand by her friends. She was surprised at how... dangerous the beasts seemed. She asked Percy to clue her in as soon as she had a free breath.

"Well, Geryon was this three-bodied ranch owner," Percy said between stabs, "that owned a ton of dangerous animals - like these flesh-eating horses that _won't listen to me_." He sliced apart a couple more to vent his frustration. "He had a ranch-hand named Eurytion that was actually pretty nice - he liked Annabeth, anyway."

Annabeth killed another horse and took over the tale. "Yeah. We ran into them when we were fourteen. Percy killed Geryon and let Eurytion go, but it looks like Gaea screwed everything up again. She apparently brought Geryon to life, locked up Eurytion so he couldn't control the ranch animals, and gave Geryon free rein to destroy us." She made a face. "And on top of it all, she did _something_ to Orthus, the two-headed dog over there. The first time we wandered onto the ranch, he was... almost like a two-headed greyhound. But now, he's been modified. Don't know if Gaea pumped him up on steroids or what, but... Well, there are always different versions of the myths, right? The first time we met Orthus, he was the tamest version of the myth, but now he's one of the worst. He didn't even have the snake tail before, and now he not only has that, but he's ten-feet-long as well. It's a nightmare."

Reyna frowned and took down a couple horses as she processed the story. "'Nightmare' about sums it up," she said finally.

Percy laughed dryly. "Don't we know i - Chimera!" He tackled Annabeth just as a stream of fire shot over their heads, narrowly missing Reyna. If Percy hadn't saved her, Annabeth would have been roasted.

While Percy and Annabeth were flat on the ground, they were completely vulnerable. And Reyna could see that the serpent tail of the Chimera was about to sink its fangs into Percy's leg. Before it could get a chance, Reyna threw her knife, slicing the snake's head off. She hoped that would be enough to kill the monster, but of course she had no such luck. The monster's tail drooped disgustingly, spilling ichor onto the ground, but the lion head turned towards Reyna angrily, with a fierce light in its eyes that looked a long way from dying. Reyna gulped and took a step backwards, forgetting for an instant that behind her lay flesh-eating horses. One took a bite out of her shoulder, and she cursed in pain, backing to the side and turning in a slow circle. She was weaponless, her shoulder throbbed viciously, and she was surrounded by monsters in every direction. Not exactly a demigod's ideal situation.

Reyna decided to buy herself a couple seconds. She ran straight towards a flesh-eating horse, surprising it long enough for her to swing onto its back. It bucked and whinnied, but Reyna held on tight with her thighs and gripped its mane with her good hand. She would _not_ be thrown off.

Eventually, the horse stopped trying to kill her, so Reyna sent it towards one of its brothers. It reared in confusion, and its hooves smacked the other horse across the head, dissolving it into gold dust. But Reyna knew she wouldn't last long, even perched on top of a large horse. For one thing, blood loss was making her dizzy. She could slide off at any moment. Besides, she didn't know how desperate the monsters would be to kill her. They might eat their fellow horse, just to get to Reyna. But this daughter of Bellona was going to make sure she didn't go down easily.

She galloped the horse towards another of its companions. This time, the hooves came down on the other horse's spine, which cracked under the pressure. Reyna wheeled her steed around and surveyed the situation. Two horses down, a hundred to go. Give or take. And she really _was_ dizzy.

Suddenly, the flow of the battle changed. The fire in the horses' eyes dimmed a bit, and they started to look around in confusion rather than anger. Even the horse under Reyna seemed less tense. Reyna whirled around to look for the source of the change, and the sudden movement unbalanced her. Before she could grab onto the mane, hold on tighter - do anything more than think, _Oh, crap_ - she toppled off the horse's back. Her vision blurred when her head banged against the ground, and, blind and in pain, she thought, _Well, Reyna, I guess this is how you're going out._

But she didn't. Nothing attacked her. Eventually, her eyes refocused, and she saw a hand floating above her head. Disoriented and utterly confused, she didn't know what else she could do but grab it. So she did. The next thing she knew, she had been hauled upwards and was standing against Percy, practically falling over him. She hoped Annabeth didn't mind, but she really couldn't help it.

"What happened?" she asked thickly, her hand going to her shoulder. "Why'd they stop attacking?"

Percy grinned, a rare sight during such a dark battle. In fact, Reyna wasn't sure if he'd smiled at all since she had arrived in Greece. He had always looked tired, angry, and... _weathered_, like an experienced fighter who had seen too much war and been through too much pain. But Reyna supposed that made sense - it wasn't even a simile, really. Percy _was_ an experienced fighter who had seen too much war and been through too much pain. After all, the guy had been through Tartarus.

Now, though, he looked like the sky had been lifted off his shoulders. His clothes were still in shreds, and he was still completely covered in monster slime and various minor injuries, but at least his haggard expression was gone. "Frank and Hazel happened," he told her happily. "Eurytion was trapped in an iron cage, so Hazel used her Pluto powers to bust the cage open and free him. At the same time, Frank fought Geryon and eventually managed to shoot an arrow through Geryon's sides and kill him. Then Eurytion could regain control of the monsters and get them to stop attacking. Orthus has reverted to a semi-lovable two-headed greyhound, and the flesh-eating horses are being sensible, and they're going to help us fight Gaea's army." Percy smiled again. "We just got about a hundred new allies."

Reyna nodded half-heartedly. The world was spinning too fast for her to think straight. "Good. I'm glad. The Chimera?"

"You bought us enough time to get back up," Percy told her. "Thanks for that, by the way. Then we took care of it, no problem."

Reyna nodded again. "How's Hylla?"

Suddenly, Annabeth appeared, although Reyna had no idea how she had gotten there. "Hylla's fine," she said. "She came over here just long enough to make sure you were all right, and then she ran off."

"Why?"

"Hylla said something about someone named Kinzie and a giant two-headed snake called an _amphisbaena_," Annabeth said.

"Giant... snake...?" Reyna struggled to stand on her own. "Sounds like she needs my help."

"Your _help_...? Reyna, you're barely conscious."

Reyna glared at the daughter of Athena. "You have nectar, don't you? Pour some on my shoulder. I'll be fine. Did you find my knife?" She really needed to keep better track of that thing.

"Yeah, it's right here." Annabeth unstrapped a second dagger from her belt that Reyna hadn't seen before and reluctantly gave it to her. Meanwhile, Percy poured nectar on her shoulder. It burned obnoxiously, but Reyna gritted her teeth against the pain, refusing to cry out. She _needed_ to have Hylla's back. She _needed_ to make sure her older sister was okay. There was no way Reyna Concessi was about to sit on the sidelines, waiting like an invalid for battle updates. Not anymore.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Annabeth asked her anxiously. "No one would blame you if you took a break for a minute..."

"I'm fine," Reyna insisted, shrugging off her friends' steadying hands. "Just point me in Hylla's direction."

They did, and Reyna raced off. She just hoped she wasn't too late.

* * *

**I find the sentence with Reyna's last name in it incredibly ironic, considering what her name means in Latin... *cackles and grins because I'm a Latin nerd and nobody else will get the joke***

**Any thoughts?**


	4. Worry, Ruthlessness, and Gratitude

**Thank you for the reviews!**

**I don't really have anything else to say... So luckily for you guys, you get a short author's note. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hylla, Kinzie, or Reyna, and the _amphisbaena_ was a real monster from Greek mythology.**

* * *

**Worry, Ruthlessness, and Gratitude**

* * *

Reyna was lucky. When she found Hylla and Kinzie, they were both still alive. But the battle wasn't going well for them.

The left arm of Kinzie's jumpsuit was in smoking shreds, most likely from the remnants of snake venom. The poison had left bright red splotches on her skin that looked incredibly painful, but the Amazon just kept fighting, gritting her teeth. Still, she looked better off than Hylla.

They were each fighting one of the snake's heads, but Hylla had taken the one that looked more in charge. She was one of the most agile fighters Reyna knew, but even she wasn't fast enough to dodge all of the amphisbaena's attacks. She had venom burns all over her skin, and some of her hair looked singed.

Reyna noticed all of this in a second. And as soon as Reyna processed the scene completely, she sprang into battle.

Her dagger turned into a vicious arc of Imperial gold, slashing into the _amphisbaena_ wherever it could reach. Reyna had instinctively run towards Hylla, seeing as the Amazon Queen was her sister and all, and together, they were beating back the serpent's head. "I see you've finally decided to show up," Hylla teased breathlessly as she dodged a spurt of poison. "You took your sweet time getting here."

"Sorry about that," Reyna said, sarcasm poking into her words. "I was busy fighting an entire herd of man-eating horses with a chunk taken out of my arm."

Hylla stopped short, almost getting stabbed with the snake's fangs before Reyna pulled her out of the way. "Are you okay? I mean... Oh gods, I didn't even see your arm until just now..."

"I'm fine, Hylla," Reyna told her, managing to aim another stab around a spray of venom. "Besides, we have bigger problems to worry about. I have a feeling more monsters are going to join the party any second."

Hylla laughed grimly, sprinting to the serpent's side to get a slash in there before the _amphisbaena_ could twist around and bite her. "Oh, I have no doubt about that. They were crowding us earlier - I had to fight both heads at the same time while Kinzie took on the rest of the army - but they let up suddenly a couple minutes earlier. Not sure why, but if there's one thing I've learned about war, it's that lucky breaks never last."

Reyna couldn't help but agree. "Frank and Hazel got rid of a guy named Geryon," she said as an explanation. "It tipped the battle momentarily. But you're right. I'm sure they'll be back."

Almost as though her words were one of Circe's magic spells, the sentence came true. More monsters popped out of nowhere, like Reyna had been blinded by the Mist and could now suddenly see through it. She cursed and twisted away from her sister. "I'll keep those guys occupied. Kill this snake quickly and come join me, all right?"

"Will do, little sis," Hylla said, clipping her words off. "It'll be as easy as forming a Greco-Roman alliance."

Reyna snorted. "Well, we managed that, didn't we?" Then she was gone, already turning towards the first monsters.

She was vaguely aware of Hylla and Kinzie in the background, coordinating with each other and slowly wearing down the massive snake. But she couldn't comcentrate on them much. She was too busy whirling and stabbing to the best of her ability, and finding herself coming up short of her usual skill.

For one thing, Reyna still wasn't as strong as she would have liked. Blood loss and several minor injuries tended to do that to a person. For another, there were a _lot_ of monsters, and most of them had weapons far longer than a dagger. Combined, those two factors were making it pretty hard for Reyna to keep ahead of the fighting. She found herself battling desperately just to stay alive.

"How are you doing on the giant snake front?" Reyna yelled over her shoulder.

"Flipping fan_tastic_," a voice shouted back. But it wasn't Hylla speaking; it was Kinzie. Since she wasn't particularly close to Reyna - in fact, they had only spoken a few times - Reyna found no reason why Kinzie would answer instead of her sister... unless...

"_Hylla!_ Are you okay?" Reyna turned around, suddenly overcome with worry. Some monster's claws raked through her bad shoulder - which hurt like Styx, but Reyna ignored it - before she realized that Hylla was still standing upright, relatively unharmed.

"I'm fine, Reyna," Hylla told her in exasperation, sparing her a worried glance. "Flip around and kill some more monsters before you get hurt worse."

Arching her back in righteous indignation, Reyna followed Hylla's advice. "Sorry for being _concerned_." She threw the words imperiously behind her.

"You had nothing to be concerned _about_," Kinzie shouted back. "We have this under control! We're only fighting _one_ monster! You're up against a _hundred_! If anything, _we_ should be the concerned ones!"

Reyna was amazed. Kinzie had talked to her _again_. They weren't _close_. Reyna barely knew Kinzie's _name_. So why did she sound so... _worried _about her?

But all Reyna said was, "I'm fine, Kinzie! It's nothing I haven't dealt with before!"

Kinzie laughed. "A hundred monsters is nothing you haven't dealt with before?"

Reyna was too busy fighting to answer, so Hylla filled in. "You know, Kinzie, I'm pretty sure we've _all_ dealt with a hundred monsters before."

Kinzie made a sound that strangely sounded halfway between a groan and a hiss. "Don't I know it," she muttered. No one spoke for about fifteen seconds, and then Reyna felt her gut wrench in foreboding and a high-pitched cry pierced the sounds of battle and Kinzie actually _growled_, so ferociously that Reyna spun around yet again to see what was going on.

Hylla was on the ground, eyes half-closed in delirious pain, one hand clutching futilely at her leg. Reyna made a noise - almost like a whimper, although she would never admit that to _anyone_ - in the back of her throat. She had just taken her first step towards her older sister when Kinzie hissed again. What the Amazon did next shocked and confused Reyna, so much that she froze in place. Luckily, the monsters she'd been fighting seemed to be frozen too.

Kinzie was in a crouch, holding her sword dangerously towards the _amphisbaena_. Only a flicked glance in Hylla's direction betrayed how worried Kinzie felt. Then, with a shriek that sounded like someone had stepped on her tail (if Kinzie was a cat and had a tail), the Amazon pounced.

Her sword was a blur of gold, slashing through the two-headed snake's armored scales almost effortlessly. Reyna could hardly believe that they had had so much trouble defeating the _amphisbaena_ earlier. Kinzie took it down in about a minute, teeth bared like fangs the whole time. Reyna was starting to think that Kinzie really _was_ part-cat.

As soon as the snake dissolved into golden dust, Kinzie rushed towards the monsters that Reyna had been fighting. She took down countless enemies as Reyna stood there, crippled by shock. Kinzie was a growling, hissing, feral _menace_. Soon enough, the monsters got the message and backed away. Even Gaea's army could feel fear, Reyna supposed.

As if their retreat had sharpened Reyna's focus, she suddenly found that her body could work again. Immediately, she unfroze and sprinted towards her sister. As fast as she was running, Kinzie made it there first. She dropped to her knees and held Hylla's head. Her growls subsided into noises like anxious mews, and she pushed Hylla's hair back from her face. That was all she had time for before Reyna arrived.

"What happened?" she demanded, crouching next to her sister but talking to Kinzie. "How'd she get hurt? I thought _I_ was supposed to be the one in danger."

Kinzie shook her head, still quietly cooing. Reyna realized the Amazon was too anxious for anything even resembling an explanation, so she pushed down her own terror and got to work.

"Kinzie, we can't both stay leaning over Hylla like this," she said brusquely. Reyna was afraid that if she tried anything more gentle, she would burst into tears. "One of us has to get up and protect her. Your, uh, cat display won't keep the monsters back for long. Do you want to go, or should I?" While she waited for an answer, Reyna started examining Hylla's leg, trying to see what was wrong. She discovered the problem quickly.

Hylla had let her guard down for just a second too long, sometime after they'd finished talking. The snake had managed to sink its fangs into Hylla's thigh, injecting her with enough poison to kill even a daughter of Bellona. Hylla had dropped into unconsciousness while Kinzie was still fighting the _amphisbaena_, and her tan skin was already paling to a sickly green. Reyna wanted to hold Hylla's hand and sob brokenly. Her sister was poisoned. Her sister was in pain. Her sister could _die_. And it was all Reyna's fault; all Reyna's fault for getting her shoulder hurt twice; all Reyna's fault for making her sister worry and drop her guard; all Reyna's fault for not fighting by Hylla's side the entire time, like she'd promised.

But there was nothing Reyna could do now. It was too late to rewind the past and make Hylla run off to fight the swarm of monsters instead, or hide her injury so Hylla wouldn't notice that she was hurt. All Reyna could do now was try her best to save her sister's life.

She took one look at Kinzie, still rocking back and forth with Hylla's head in her lap, and Reyna knew that she wouldn't be the one sitting at her sister's side. Kinzie's feral burst of adrenaline seemed to have faded as soon as she processed what had happened to her queen, to her colleague, and - as Reyna could tell from the tears streaming down Kinzie's face - to her best friend. As much as Reyna wanted to hug Hylla and whisper that it was going to be all right, she had to take responsibility for keeping all three of them from getting sliced to pieces. She had to trust Kinzie to take care of Hylla until they could find a way to hail a medic. Trust didn't come easily to Reyna for her closest friends, and Kinzie was a girl she hardly knew. But for Hylla's sake, Reyna had to try.

"I'll take care of the monsters," Reyna said, making up her mind to break the silence. She took Hylla's limp hand for support, praying to all the gods that she was making the right choice. "One of us has to. Kinzie, do you know first aid?"

Finally, Kinzie spoke. "Better than first aid," she said hoarsely, her words punctuated with nervous squeaks. "I have... nectar... bandages... Mom was a nymph... know nature magic... I'll take care of Hylla."

"Then get on it!" Reyna shouted. Instantly, she regretted her harsh tone. She was just _so worried_. "Sorry, Kinzie," she added, lowering her voice and averting her eyes. "Just... fix her, please?" This was another reason to trust Kinzie - she sounded like she knew far more about healing than Reyna did. That didn't stop her from worrying, though. Kinzie just seemed so... _lost_. Could she really handle the responsibility of Hylla's _life_?

Reyna's decision wavered. She hesitated for maybe two seconds. In those two seconds, Kinzie seemed to realize what she was thinking. The nervous noises stopped. When Kinzie looked up at Reyna, the feral light was back in her eyes. "Hylla will be _fine_, Reyna," Kinzie said firmly. "I'll take care of her. Get up. Go fight all those monsters that kept you from helping Hylla, and kick their asses, all right?"

Kinzie's flighty pauses were gone. Reyna was starting to wonder if she'd been wrong about her. Maybe she _did_ deserve trust - at least temporary trust, made necessary by the desperate situation they were in. Maybe Kinzie could be counted on in a pinch after all. Immediately, Reyna could have kicked herself. Of _course_ Kinzie could be counted on in a pinch. Why else would Hylla have been so close to her?

Reyna didn't hesitate any longer. She flashed a grin that matched Kinzie's eyes in ferocity, gently let go of Hylla's hand, and stood, picking up her dagger from where she'd dropped it to crouch by her sister.

"Oh, I will," she told Kinzie, taking one last worried look at Hylla. Then her gaze hardened, her eyes narrowing as she turned to face the monsters that were creeping back towards them. She raised her voice as she spoke, making sure her enemies knew just how dangerous Reyna Concessi could be when provoked. "I'll make their deaths so miserable, those worthless pieces of Gaea's scum will wish that they'd stayed in bed down in Tartarus instead of following Gaea to their doom! I'll make their injuries so painful, the assholes will be _grateful_ when they die!" She curled her lips and bared her teeth in an imitation of a smile, so vengeful that even an idiotic monster wouldn't mistake it for the real thing. "Yes, they'll be happy to go back to Tartarus by the time I'm done with them. But I'm in no hurry to let them get back home easily."

* * *

The next thirty minutes were a blur of violent attacks on Reyna's part and terrified looks on the monsters'. She hadn't been kidding when she had said she would make their deaths as excruciating as possible. She gave them painful injuries that left them crippled or mortally wounded, or both - but not quite dead. Not until they either dissolved from their injuries, or Reyna decided they had suffered enough and killed them mercifully. But she refused to do the latter, and so countless monsters lay writhing on the ground, enduring the stabbing torment of the former. Reyna hadn't been this vicious or unforgiving since the escape from Blackbeard's ship, but unlike then, Reyna knew she would feel no remorse this time around. For one thing, these disgusting abominations were the reasons that Reyna hadn't been able to help her sister when she needed it most. They _had _to pay for that. The damn creatures _deserved _to feel a little pain, after what they'd done. Besides, these were _monsters_, not men. Why should Reyna feel guilt for tearing _monsters_ limb from limb? They would reform eventually anyways.

So Reyna fought rabidly, secure in the knowledge that her actions would leave her free from guilt. She stabbed and sliced and hurt and mangled any monster that dared approach her, and like idiots, many dared. Reyna was able to work off some of her frustration about Hylla's injury through ruthless attacks and muttered curses directed towards Gaea, the monsters, the _amphisbaena_, and the world in general.

Eventually, Reyna felt a hand on her shoulder. At first, she was sure that it belonged to a monster, and so she swung around, her dagger already whistling through the air. But something stopped it with impressive speed before it could slice its target. Thrown off balance for a second, Reyna kept a wary eye on her enemy while she regained her footing. That was when she realized that the hand didn't belong to an enemy at all, but to Kinzie.

"Hylla," Reyna said immediately, righting herself and turning back to the monsters. She fought while she spoke. "How is she?"

"What, no 'I'm-sorry-for-almost-chopping-your-head-off-Kinzi e'?" the Amazon teased.

Reyna didn't know how she could tease when Hylla's life was in danger. "I'm sorry for almost chopping your head off, Kinzie," she replied in a hard voice, not sounding sorry at all. "But you _did_ sneak up on me without warning. Now _how is Hylla_?"

"Touchy, touchy," Kinzie scolded lightly, sliding into place next to Reyna and joining in the battle. "I stabilized Hylla and then ran off to get some actual medics. I brought them back, they examined her - praised me for my healing skills, I might add - and carried her away in a stretcher. But I had managed to get rid of most of the poison, and their Apollo spells will cleanse her of the rest. They promised me that she'll be fine."

So that was why Kinzie could tease and joke. Hylla would be fine. Her life wasn't in danger after all.

"Thank gods," Reyna said out loud. She looked sidelong at the Amazon who had saved her sister's life. "And thank you."

"Of course," Kinzie answered offhandedly. "She's our queen and my best friend. I wasn't about to let her _die_."

Reyna nodded, thinking that was all that needed to be said. But Kinzie wasn't done speaking, not by a long shot. As they fought, she jabbered on about various events in Hylla's life as an Amazon, telling funny stories and crazy stories and intense, action-packed stories - but each of those tales had a happy ending. Reyna was grateful - not just for the distraction from the gory reality filling her vision right now, but also for Hylla's history. Even though they had made up during the Feast of Fortuna, they hadn't immediately spilled their life stories to each other. Between when they had parted ways in Louisiana and when Hylla had arrived at Camp Jupiter with her force of Amazons, Reyna had no idea what her sister had been up to. Those four years were a huge blank, the only part of their lives where they might have secrets from each other. Kinzie was filling in those blanks for Reyna. As soon as Hylla woke up again, Reyna resolved to do the same for her.

"Thank you," Reyna repeated abruptly, interrupting Kinzie in the middle of one of her stories about the male prisoners at Amazon headquarters.

"For what?" Kinzie asked in surprise. "I already told you that I would have helped Hylla no matter what. You don't have to thank me for that."

"I'm not," Reyna said, shaking her head as she took down a few more monsters. "I'm thanking you for the stories. And for taking care of the _amphisbaena_ and the other monsters when Hylla got hurt and I was in shock. And..." Gods, she was bad with words. "I'm, uh, thanking you for being concerned about me earlier. I... well, I was just wondering why."

She shot a sideways glance at Kinzie. The Amazons' eyebrows were raised. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to," Reyna added hurriedly. "It's no big deal, really-"

"No, I get it," Kinzie assured her. "I've heard what your legionnaires say about you. 'Reyna Concessi, fierce unstoppable praetor of Rome.'" She traced quote marks in the air with one hand while her other wielded her sword wickedly. "'She never makes a mistake in battle. She never stutters or slips up when she speaks. And don't cross her, or she'll kick your ass.'"

Reyna allowed a small smile to crack her hardened exterior. "I doubt they use those exact words."

"Oh, they do," Kinzie assured her. "Those and more." Her carefree tone turned more serious. "Anyway, I figured nobody really worries about you. They all figure that you can take care of yourself - and I'm sure you can. Just... Hylla worries about you because you're her sister. And I worry about you by extension... because... well, if you got hurt, Hylla would be really upset. Besides, I figure that sometimes it's nice to know that other people are concerned about your well-being. Even if you don't need their concern, at least you know they care."

Reyna was taken aback. She had never seen this side of Kinzie before. The Kinzie that her legion knew had a strange way of flirting with Reyna's male legionnaires that often left them uncomfortable, if not downright disturbed. The Kinzie they knew was either crazy, funny, terrifying, or all three. The Kinzie they knew was just a little too... eccentric. It was hard to get too close to that particular Amazon.

But Reyna had already seen one new side of Kinzie before. The fighting that Kinzie had displayed after Hylla got hurt was lethal, impressive, and almost... _feral_. Wild. Insane, with the kind of insanity that reflected her kooky personality. But also effective.

After that, she supposed that it shouldn't have been surprising that Kinzie had other sides of her personality that she usually kept hidden. After all, didn't Reyna hide some traits herself? Didn't she keep her humor and emotions locked away from public scrutiny?

So Reyna didn't belittle the serious words that Kinzie had spoken. She didn't act like they had never happened, and she didn't take them lightly. Instead, she smiled again, more genuinely than last time. "Well, thank you for that. For the record, I'll be concerned about you too from now on."

"You're sixteen," Kinzie said loftily. "I'm _nineteen_. I don't need a _child's_ concern."

Reyna's smile turned into a vicious grin. "A child, huh? Do you think you could beat this 'child' in a fight?"

"No," Kinzie admitted freely. "That doesn't mean that I won't lord the word over your head for the rest of this battle. And possibly for our whole lives."

"You can't," Reyna said.

"Oh yes I ca-"

"No, you can't," Reyna insisted. "I'm nearly seventeen. I'll be eighteen in less than a year and a half. After that, I won't be a child anymore."

Kinzie smiled, but it was a little sad. "That's assuming we survive that long," she muttered softly. She hesitated for a moment, as if wondering whether to add more. But in the end, Kinzie just shook her head and went back to fighting full-force, both her sword and her eyes glinting in the fading afternoon light.

Reyna could tell the conversation was over, but she didn't really mind. Small talk would never be her thing. Besides, even if Hylla would be fine, these monsters had still almost killed her. So Reyna returned to ruthless fighting as well, stabbing and slicing alongside her feral, Amazonian friend. But she found herself killing Gaea's minions right away this time. Instead of littering the ground with mangled monsters, Reyna left a trail of glittering golden dust in her wake.

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**Reviews are appreciated! :D**


	5. Vulnerability: A Longer Word for Death

**Wow, this story has exploded. It started out as a simple oneshot, and now I'm at nearly 21,000 words (even without the author's notes). This is insane. And I have no idea when it's going to end... :P**

**Also, sorry about the slow update! Agh, it took me almost two weeks to write this chapter, and it's not even that long... But I was on vacation for some of that time, and then I started school, and now my whole life is crazy-busy. So I apologize for the slow update, but there wasn't much I could do about it. I'm writing as much and as fast as I can, whenever inspiration strikes, but unfortunately, the updates might be this slow from here on out. School is killer. :(**

**And has anyone noticed that the last three chapters have had titles that are lists of three things? That wasn't intentional, and is actually kind of weird... Well, I fixed that with this chapter. :P**

**Anyway, thank you for the support for this story! The reviews, the follows, the favorites, all of it! Whenever someone takes the time to review this story - or any of my stories, really - I smile and maybe even bounce in my seat a little bit. ;) So please keep reviewing! I will give cookies! (That doesn't count as bribery, does it? :P)**

**Disclaimer: The plot is mine... And that's about it.**

* * *

**Vulnerability: A Longer Word for Death**

* * *

_We spend an uneventful night in the clearing. Bobby takes first watch, Jason relieves him sometime in the middle of the night, and Dakota takes __over until we all wake up. But the vigil is unnecessary. Not a single monster attacks. (Which was good, since I doubt Dakota would have been sober enough to notice.) Jason jokes that they must all be scared of me, and I don't disagree. It could easily be true, although my ruthless reputation never stopped one before._

_Luckily, the boys didn't bother me during the night. After dinner, I quietly laid my sleeping bag out on the far side of the clearing, and the others set up camp on their side without comment. I was nervous about them before - even if they're not really men yet - but they've proven that they're not scoundrels like the pirates._

_Now, though, I have a new concern. We haven't talked about moving on, but I'm sure they have someplace to be. Why else would they be journeying through a monster-infested forest? The fact that they have a destination in mind is obvious. The only question is whether I will accompany them._

_Surprisingly, I find that I want to. For one thing, it would be nice to get to know other people my age, if only to study how normal teenagers are _supposed_ to act. But more importantly, I find myself growing more and more certain that they are from the legion I dreamed about. If they will let me come with them, I'm sure that they will eventually return there, and my journey will be over at last. But I don't want to sound desperate or needy, so I avoid bringing the topic up during our breakfast. Instead, Jason tells more stories as we munch on leftovers from dinner. It's a rather disgusting concept, but I've gotten used to it over the last weeks. After the time I spent in the prison on Blackbeard's ship, I've stopped being choosy about my meals. And the boys are, well, _boys_. They don't give a Styx about what constitutes a breakfast, lunch, or dinner food. All they know is that whatever they're eating tastes good. And that's more than enough for them._

_Too soon, breakfast is over, and I still haven't found out if I'm allowed to continue with them. I scramble to find the words to bring up the subject, but before I can get out more than "So...", Jason stands up and stretches._

_"We've been hanging out here long enough," he says, looking down at us. "We need to get going. Let's pack up our bags, save whatever's left of this awesome food Reyna scored for us, and start moving." The words are addressed to all of us, but he's looking at me as he speaks. At _me_._

_I hardly dare to hope, but I ask, "Does this mean I'm coming with you?"_

_Jason grins, a slow, easy grin that makes a scar on his lip turn white and stick out. I hadn't noticed it before. "Of _course_ you're coming with us, Reyna," he tells me. "You saved our butts yesterday. We're not going to force you to fend for yourself again. It would be cruel and unfair to make you keep fighting alone." He hesitates, suddenly unsure. "That is... Unless you'd _rather_ keep fighting alone. It's up to you, of course."_

_I'm so relieved, I want to smile and thank him, maybe even jump up and give him a hug. (I can't believe how much I've changed in just three weeks. The Reyna from Circe's island would never _dream_ of hugging a male.) But I restrain myself. I still have my hard, disciplined, unflinching image to protect. I can't do something that out-of-character. Besides, I don't want Jason to think I owe him anything for letting me tag along. I don't want to have to tally up debts or keep score. So I don't let him know how pleased I am. __I just allow a smirk to lift the corners of my mouth._

_"I'll come," I say. "After all, _somebody's_ got to keep you boys alive, since you obviously can't do it yourselves. And I don't see any other willing volunteers."_

* * *

_I take first watch that night. It's only fair, since I didn't have to before. Jason is supposed to go second again (gods knew why, but he actually _enjoyed_ having his sleep split in half), so at around midnight, I walk over and kick his sleeping bag. "Grace," I hiss, "wake up. I want to go to sleep."_

_"Gwen, go 'way," he mumbles. I'm confused before I remember that he has a friend from home named Gwen. "I'll skip archery and sleep in."_

_I kick him again. He's not getting anything more personal from me. "Wake up, Grace," I say again. "And stop being so loud. You'll wake up Bobby, and then he'll kill both of us." I grin reflectively. "Or at least, he'll kill you. And he'll _try_ to kill me."_

_"Wha-? Who're you?"_

_I roll my eyes. "Really, Grace, you're pathetic. Get off your sorry ass and go keep watch." I clamp a hand over my mouth. Oh, _Styx_. A month in Blackbeard's ship has made me immune to cursing, but these guys obviously haven't been through anything so... mature. What if they have a problem with language and decide to kick me out?_

_For three seconds, I hold my breath and wait. Then he grumbles. "Five more minutes, Lia."_

_I'm pretty sure Jason never mentioned anyone named "Lia" during his stories, but I'm too relieved to care. He's still mostly asleep. I'm safe. Still, I promise myself to keep the cursing to a minimum around these guys, just to be sure. Some god has blessed me by leading me to a couple demigods who can bring me to the legion. I'm not going to screw that up._

_I try to wake Jason at least five more times, but he doesn't do more than moan and complain. Finally, I get impatient and yank the sleeping bag off of him. "Gods, Grace, _wake up_!"_

_That seems to do the trick. His eyes open. He squints, like he's having trouble seeing me. "Reeeey-naaahh?" He drags out each syllable sleepily. "That you? What are you...?" Suddenly, his vision seems to snap into focus, and he curses and pushes me to the side. Well, at least I know they won't kick me out for language._

_"What the _Styx_ is your problem, Grace?"_

_That's when I realize that he's taken out the gold coin in his pocket. (He can flip it, and it either turns into a sword or a javelin. He showed it to me the first night. I have to admit, it's a pretty cool magic item.) That can only mean one thing._

_I look past Jason, and sure enough, my eyes land on a hulking shape in the shadows. "Monster," I breathe. My hand reaches for the dagger at my belt, but before I can grab it, another monster sneaks up behind me and wraps one arm around my throat, dragging me backwards. I gasp for air, but before my lungs even start to burn, I feel the grip of the monster slacken. I push his arms off me and turn just in time to see a Cyclops dissolve into dust, a golden javelin piercing its eye._

_The next thing I know, Jason has run forward, grabbed his javelin, and thrown it towards the other monster we saw. It's another perfect shot. The second Cyclops goes down._

_"Nice aim," I admit._

_He grins triumphantly. "Now we're even."_

Oh, gods_, I think. _Am I going to have to keep score after all? Well, in that case...

_"Even?" I scoff. "If I remember, I saved _your_ life _twice_. Besides, I wouldn't have been caught off my guard if you hadn't taken _so flipping long_ to wake up."_

_"Oh, come on," Jason pleads, "give me a break."_

_I pretend to consider it. "Uh... no." He pouts, and I roll my eyes. "Go keep watch, Grace. I'm going to sleep. Yell if you need me to save your life a third time."_

* * *

_We've been traveling for three days, and Bobby and Dakota are out looking for food. Jason and I are just standing around, keeping watch. I decide to finally give into curiosity and ask something that's been bugging me for days. "So who's your godly parent?"_

_The question catches Jason completely off-guard. "How do you...?"_

_I snort. "What? How do I know about Greek gods and Western civilization and the rest of that crap? Gods, Grace, how thick _are_ you? Let's review. 1. I know what monsters are, and I fight them well - better than you, I might add. 2. I haven't been surprised by anything that's popped up in the last couple of days - not the hellhound, not the drakon, not even the karpoi. I've known what each monster is, and I've known their weaknesses. All that, and you _still_ think I wouldn't know about the gods?"_

_Jason grins sheepishly. "I guess that was dumb."_

_"Yeah," I say dryly. "No duh. So I repeat. Who's your godly parent?"_

_He hesitates. "How come _I'm_ always the one telling _you_ about myself? You know my full name, my friends' names, my favorite food and color... When are _you_ going to share?"_

_I cross my arms. "I'm not good at sharing."_

_A smile spreads across his face. "Were you the kind of kid who hogged the swing all recess__ in kindergarten__?"_

_I pull my braid over my shoulder nonchalantly. "Never went to kindergarten."_

_His silence tells me how surprised he is._

_"Never went to school at all, really." I don't count Circe's teachings as school. All I learned was spa work, a little magic, and a special subject I've since decided to call "anti-menology"._

_He still doesn't speak. "You wanted me to share," I remind him. "I did. And if you must know, my godly parent is Bellona, goddess of war. Now spill."_

_"Bellona, huh? Impressive. Explains the fighting."_

_I glare at him. "Stop changing the subject, Grace."_

_He grins. "Fine." He quiets again, and for a second, I think I'm going to have to force it out of him. Then I think he's hit a growth spurt. Jason shoots up a couple inches in half a second._

_I gape. "What...?" He rises another foot. On a sudden impulse, I look at his feet. _They don't touch the ground.

_My mouth drops open, and Jason laughs, drifting six more feet into the air. He sweeps me a bow that flips him upside-down. "Jason Grace, son of Jupiter," he says, grinning stupidly. "At your service."_

_I close my mouth. No need to give him a bigger ego. All I do is raise an eyebrow. "And you thought _Bellona_ was impressive."_

_He shrugs, which looks extremely strange when seen upside-down. "It is," he says, still smirking. "Jupiter's just even better."_

_"Mmmm-hmmm," I say, hoping the noncommittal noise doesn't count as disrespect towards the king god. "Get down from there, Lightning Boy. Your face is turning purple."_

* * *

The rest of the day was a blur. Reyna vaguely remembered fighting, more fighting, and - surprise, surprise - even more fighting. Sometime before the sun went down, the monsters retreated again, and Reyna was able to stop. After that, she was pretty sure she had dropped into the infirmary to check on Hylla... and passed out next to her cot. At least, she guessed that was what had happened. Why else would she be waking up in a hard metal chair, with her face pressed to Hylla's mattress?

"Morning," someone said. "You've been asleep for _ages_, Reyna; I was up since seven. Have a late night or something?"

Reyna rubbed a hand across her eyes and looked up to find the source of the voice. She thought maybe Kinzie had come in to bug her, but her eyes met Hylla's instead.

"You're awake!" she exclaimed. "You're alive! You're talking!"

Hylla laughed. "Yes, Reyna, I know. Don't you think you're stating the obvious?"

Reyna ignored her teasing and grabbed Hylla's hand - mostly because she was too sore to stand up and give her a hug. "I was so worried about you," she said. "After that _amphisbaena_ bit you..." She looked away, so Hylla couldn't see the tears welling up in her eyes. "Gods, Hylla, I thought you were _dead_." Her voice hitched on the word "dead", betraying her emotions.

Hylla squeezed Reyna's hand. "Look at me, Reyna." She couldn't bear it. She knew if she saw the sympathy and love in Hylla's eyes, she would lose it completely, and she couldn't afford that. Reyna was supposed to be strong, and tears were weakness. She couldn't lose it. What if someone walked in?

"Look at me, Reyna-girl. Please?" _Oh, gods._ When Reyna was about six, after she had learned to read, she had insisted that she was a big girl now. To humor her, Hylla had stopped calling her "sweetie" or "kiddo" and started nicknaming her "Reyna-girl". It had been a bit of an inside joke as Reyna grew up and _really_ became a big girl. But Reyna hadn't heard that nickname since a fight when Hylla had shouted that feeling guilty over the pirates' deaths was childish and stupid. It had been Hylla's way of saying that Reyna wasn't grown-up any more. If she was calling her that again...

Reyna couldn't contain herself any longer. If people walked in, she would threaten them until they swore to secrecy. She had almost lost her sister yesterday. By the gods, she was going to cry if she wanted to.

Her tears burst out suddenly, falling down her face and mixing with the blood and ichor on her dirty clothes. She leaned over the bed and cried into Hylla's stomach, who put her arms over her little sister comfortingly. "Hylla, you... scared me... half to _death_," she gasped out between sobs. "If you died now... just when we're sisters again... I don't think... I mean, I would..." She couldn't think of words strong enough to describe what she was feeling, but Hylla seemed to understand.

"I know, Reyna-girl," she whispered. "I know. Me too. So don't you dare die on me either."

Her laugh came out more like a whimper. Gods, she was pathetic. "But this... is _war_, Hylla," she murmured, fighting back a fresh round of tears. "We can't always _help_ it. Things happen, and I'm so worried... So many things could go wrong..."

"Shhh, Reyna," Hylla said, rubbing her back. "Don't think like that. We'll be fine."

She started crying again, completely mortified and unable to help herself. The last time she had cried... She raked through her memories until she found the right one. She had only been _nine_, and Circe had just ground her innocence to dust. That was _it_. And now she was bawling like a toddler. _This_ is when Hylla decides that she deserves to be called "Reyna-girl" again? Gods, that was irony.

"Don't be embarrassed, Reyna-girl," Hylla said, as if reading her thoughts. "You're _human_. You're _allowed_ to cry. Gods, you've had so much responsibility for the last four years, and I haven't been able to help you through _any_ of it. You've done a fantastic job, and you've been strong as Styx. But I know how hard things were for the past year. You've been praetor all on your own - Percy hadn't even gotten settled in his praetor's villa before he left - and you've had to fight your legion's thirst for revenge ever since June. You haven't had anyone to rant to or help you. At times it seemed like everyone in your legion was against you. Octavian tried to usurp you more times than one. And now - now that we've all finally allied out of necessity; now that you would think our problems were over - we're caught up in the most dangerous and difficult battle of our lives. You've lost friends, you nearly lost me, and you nearly died yourself. I understand." Reyna turned off the faucet of her tears, but it seemed to be leaking. A few drops of saltwater escaped anyway. She wiped away her tears quickly.

"I understand, Reyna," Hylla said again. "And everyone else does too. You've dealt with more Styx in a year than most people face in their lifetimes. After that, who _wouldn't_ feel a little stressed? Who _wouldn't_ need to let loose for once? Crying doesn't make you a child, Reyna-girl. I think we've established that you grew up a long time ago. Crying just makes you human."

"Thanks, Hylla," Reyna said, drying the last drops of leaking water from her eyes and offering a faint smile. "I think I needed to hear that."

"Oh, I know you did," Hylla grinned. "That's what big sisters are for."

Reyna's smile widened, but before she could respond, she heard a piercing scream, and somebody crashed into the side of the infirmary tent, shaking it violently.

Would they _never_ get a break?

Hylla cursed, loudly and repeatedly. "What happened? Did the army penetrate our camp? Gods, I'm put out of commission for _one_ day..."

She tried to get out of bed, but the second she tried to put weight on her bad leg, it collapsed underneath her. Hylla cursed again and grabbed onto the mattress for support. When Reyna reached out to help her, Hylla pushed herself upright and shook her head. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

"But... if they get inside the tent..."

Hylla jerked her head towards her bedside table. "I've got a sword, Reyna-girl. I can handle a couple monsters. Now go! They need you out there!"

Reyna wanted to protest, but she knew her sister was right. Instead, she climbed out of her chair.

The last few days had worn her down. Her entire body ached, her bad shoulder had never gotten proper medical attention, and to top it all off, she had spent the night in a hard metal chair. Part of Reyna wanted to collapse into an infirmary bed and let the other demigods fight for her, but she quickly shut away that bit of her brain. She wasn't about to let her friends down. She wasn't about to let her legion down. She would push through her fatigue, and she would fight the way a daughter of Bellona was supposed to. Everyone outside this tent - and inside it too - was counting on her to pull through, so she would and more. Reyna was good at exceeding expectations.

She looked back at her sister, already drawing her dagger. "I'll be back," she promised. "Stay safe until I do."

Hylla's eyes were shining, but with pride rather than tears. "I will," she said softly. "You stay safe too."

Reyna hesitated. She could promise all she wanted, but she knew that what she had said earlier was true. This was war. So many things could go wrong, and she wouldn't always be able to help it. She could taste death in the air. What if it was her own death she was tasting, or - gods forbid - _Hylla's_? Did she really want the last words ringing in her sister's ears to be something as meaningless as "stay safe"?

Gods of Olympus, _no_.

Before she could second-guess herself, Reyna ran forward and hugged her sister, tighter than she had in years. She felt five years old again, but this time, she thought that might not be such a bad thing. "I love you, Lala," she whispered. "I'm sorry I don't tell you that more often."

A shocked silence hung in the air for about two seconds. Then Hylla kissed Reyna's forehead and smoothed down her braid. "I love you too, kiddo."

They were quiet for a few more moments, and then the sounds of battle brought them to their senses. "Now go be Reyna-girl again," Hylla said proudly. "Show Gaea what we Concessis are made of."

Reyna stepped back, a grim smile replacing her soft expression. Vulnerability was good for tender, sisterly-bonding moments, but it was a longer word for death on the battlefield. "Oh, I will," she said. "Don't worry, Hylla. That's one promise I know for sure that I'll keep."


	6. Casualties of War

**ONE MONTH LEFT UNTIL THE HOUSE OF HADES COMES OUT! :O**

**Anyway . . . Once again, I apologize for my slow updates. But hey, at least I made the two-week deadline, right? (Barely . . . ) Also, this chapter is _over 8,000 words long,_ which is _twice_ my usual length. I think that makes up for it. . . . :P**

**Also, I figured I'd better give you fair warning that this chapter is _very_ T-rated, if you know what I mean. Violence, emotional trauma, possibly a little language, the whole shebang. For some reason, this story is way darker than all my others. I apologize in advance if you're a bit squeamish. . . .**

**Oh, and thank you for the reviews! They were lovely, as usual. :)**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or Heroes of Olympus.**

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**Casualties of War**

* * *

Reyna knew what a battle was. She had been in her fair share of fights before, ranging in scale from tussle to full-out brawl. But the war she stepped into was the most destructive and painful event she had ever seen. This wasn't a battle. It was a _massacre_.

A half-second glance at the sky told Reyna that dawn had barely broken. Most people had probably been asleep when the first monster ripped some poor soul straight out of his or her tent—probably a girl, judging from the scream Reyna had heard. That cry had been a terrifying alarm clock that didn't leave any time for a snooze alarm. Hundreds of demigods had been catapulted straight from dead sleep to action, and not all of them were taking it well. Most people hadn't had time for armor, and a few hadn't even been able to grab a proper weapon. They were fending off monsters with their tent poles or bare hands.

As Reyna watched, a hellhound bit one of her legionnaires' tent poles in half. Reyna was too far away to make a difference—her knife couldn't even be thrown that far—but she was still close enough to see as the hellhound gored her Roman next. The girl's name was Analise. She had barely been in the legion for a year—had just earned her first stripe. She had been so excited. . . .

Reyna refused to allow a single tear to escape her eye. She couldn't afford blurry vision right now . . . but gods, war was brutal.

She turned away to escape the scene, but her eyes immediately fell on another horrible sight. Dakota was fighting bravely, but at least fifteen monsters surrounded him. He couldn't be slashing everywhere at once, so the creatures kept getting under his guard. He had dozens of cuts and bruises all over his body, but Dakota wasn't giving up. His Kool-Aid flask was lying somewhere in the fray, trampled and forgotten, and without it, he looked more aware and focused than Reyna had ever seen him. Every time a monster injured him, Dakota's sword answered with three stabs, slices, or parries. Monsters dissolved with every swipe, but more just took their place.

Reyna ran forward to help him, but a dozen heavily-armed monsters came up to block her path. It only took her five minutes to fight through them, but as quick as she was, she was too slow. She burst through the dust of the last monster just in time to see a monster's battle-ax come down on Dakota's leg. The centurion didn't have a chance. Reyna could only watch as Dakota suddenly became one appendage short of a full set. As if in slow motion, she saw confusion, surprise, and sudden, excruciating pain pass across his face in quick succession. The expression of pain stayed put. Dakota collapsed.

Reyna flew towards him faster than one of Jason's lightning strikes. She may not have been able to save him from forced amputation, but she was a daughter of Bellona. She _could_ save his life.

Fighting furiously, Reyna tore through the monster that had sliced off Dakota's leg, following through by offing several others. The next thirty seconds were full of colors rather than defined images—the brown and black of monsters, the gold of her knife and the dust of her enemies, the white of the tents around them, the yellow of small fires that were cropping up around camp, and the red of Dakota's blood. So, so much red. There was no green of grass in Reyna's vision. All the grass was drenched in red.

Monsters turned to dust, and Dakota's face turned from flushed to gray. His painful expression faded into a blank one that Reyna recognized as shock. He started shivering, and his eyes dulled. Reyna knew she had to cut off the bleeding _now_, or he would die. But how . . . ?

While still fighting with her right hand, Reyna put two fingers of her left hand into her mouth and whistled, long and loud. Almost immediately, two streaks of color flashed towards Reyna and quickly resolved into figures—one golden dog and one silver.

"Protect me and Dakota," she ordered them sternly, still taking out monsters as she talked. "Don't let a single monster touch us. Got it?"

Aurum and Argentum barked sharply, which was their code for acknowledgment. They jumped towards Gaea's minions, and Reyna finally allowed her dagger to stop whirling. Instead, she dropped to Dakota's side.

"You'll be fine, Dakota," she told him, but she could hear the emptiness in her own promise. "I'll tie off your leg to stop the flow of blood, and you'll be fine."

"Too much . . . " Dakota croaked out. "Not Kool-Aid . . . "

Reyna could have smiled if the situation weren't so grave. "You're right, Kota," she muttered, ripping off the bottom of her praetor's cloak and pulling it around the stub of his leg. "Unfortunately, you're not sitting in a pool of Kool-Aid."

She knotted the strip of cloth and yanked it tight before knotting it again to secure it in place. The sight of his bleeding stump was gruesome, but Reyna hardened her stomach and her eyes against the sight. She couldn't afford to throw up. She couldn't afford to get hysterical. Dakota was counting on her, and all the other demigods were counting on her too. Reyna knew this would haunt her nightmares tonight, but for now, she turned off the part of the brain that was screaming, "_Blood! Guts! Blood and guts! OH MY GODS THE CHOPPED-OFF PART OF DAKOTA'S LEG JUST GOT EATEN BY A HELLHOUND! OH MY GODS, DID THAT JUST HAPPEN?! OH GODS! STOMACH, THROW UP! OH MY GODS!_"

The dogs growled around her. Dakota's blinks lasted longer each time. Reyna knew he needed nectar short-term, and an experienced medic as soon as possible. But she wasn't strong enough to carry a guy twenty pounds heavier than her into the infirmary tent. What in the name of the gods was she supposed to do now?

Her eyes were drawn to a white cloth flapping across the battlefield. It was the door flap of a tent, probably torn off during the battle. _Perfect_, Reyna thought. She signaled Argentum. "Fetch!" she told him, pointing towards the cloth. The silver dog bounded off, and she rose to take his place. Meanwhile, she was acutely aware of the fact that Dakota's shivers were getting weaker each time.

Thank the gods, Argentum came back quickly. He jumped back into the fray, giving Reyna time to lift Dakota onto the cloth. He looked at her with blank eyes. "Do you think . . . Gwen will . . . mind . . . ? War injuries . . . are . . . hot . . . right . . . ?"

Reyna's lips parted in surprise. All these years, and she never would have guessed that Dakota liked Gwen back. When the kid was high on sugar all the time, it was hard to read any emotion besides "hyper".

"Priorities, Reyna," she muttered, shaking herself out of her daze. "That hyper kid is going to bleed out if you leave him here much longer."

She looked at her dogs. "Drag him into the infirmary tent!" she ordered. "_Gently!_" Each dog took a corner of the cloth and started pulling it carefully. Reyna stood at the head of the group, clearing a path through the monsters. Gods, they must have made a strange sight, but Reyna honestly didn't care. She was saving a legionnaire's life; appearances hardly mattered. Besides, everyone was too busy with their own battles to look around.

It took longer than Reyna would have liked, but eventually her group pushed through the flaps of the infirmary. Instantly, Reyna was grateful for three things. Dakota was still conscious. The monsters hadn't come inside the infirmary yet. And Hylla was alive and safe.

"Reyna, what are you doing back here? I told you I'd be fi—oh my gods, what happened to him?"

"Dakota's lost his leg," Reyna said hurriedly, "and there will be no getting it back." The memory of the hellhound swallowing the appendage whole rose unbidden to Reyna's mind, and she shuddered once before continuing. "Please help him. Pour nectar on his leg. Keep him conscious. Stop the bleeding. Use any healing magic Circe might have taught you. He's a friend, Hylla. Just . . . _please help him_." Reyna looked directly into her sister's eyes, and the love she found in them was almost too much for her to take. She nearly broke down right there, but she managed to contain herself. She couldn't be weak now. There was still so much fighting to be done. . . .

"I'll take care of him," Hylla said, purposely making her tone as straightforward and brisk as possible. Reyna was grateful. She couldn't handle softness and sympathy right now.

Reyna nodded. She didn't trust herself to form words without bursting into a panic attack, so she just turned on her heel, whistled to her dogs, and ran out of the room. It was up to Hylla to fix Dakota now. Reyna still had a lot of fighting to do.

* * *

_"There are so many monsters," Bobby mutters while he struggles on my left. "I don't think I can do this, Reyna."_

_"It's not going to end just because you want it to," I say sharply. "You know we have to hold off these guys until Jason and Dakota get that sphinx to let us access the underground shortcut . . . and they just left a minute ago, so obviously we still have a lot of fighting to do. Just keep your eye on the monsters and coordinate your hand to meet their attacks. Stab, parry, dodge, duck, parry, duck, stab, sidestep, slash, parry, kill. . . ." I perform each of these actions as I rattle them off. By the time I get to "kill", I'm really on my fifth monster. It could never take me that long to finish off _one_ Cyclops. "It's simple, Bobby. Focus on your enemies, your allies, and the terrain, and that will keep you from tripping or getting an arm cut off. And if you've been trained well enough, the fighting responses will be automatic."_

_Bobby snorts. "I've definitely been trained enough." We lapse into silence - well, the relative silence of battle - for a few minutes before he speaks up again. "It's _working_," he says, and I don't miss the note of relief in his voice. Another beat of silence passes. "Thanks, Reyna."_

_I'm stunned. None of them has ever thanked me for anything, not even when I first arrived and saved their skins. I'm not entirely sure why, but I have a feeling it has to do with my blunt, closed-off approach to everything. I didn't let them in, even after they let me into their group. Sarcasm is probably the closest I've ever come to betraying any emotion . . . which is for the best, of course, but that probably makes me too scary to say thanks to. I've accepted that, and I realize that means I probably won't make many friends. Obviously, I don't mind, as long as they're not outright _hostile_, but I have to admit . . . hearing a word of appreciation _is_ rather nice. It makes me feel just a bit more accepted. Less of a stranger. More of an . . . ally._

_"You're welcome," I say finally, and for the first time, I allow a genuine smile to cross my face. "But really, it was no problem. It would be selfish of me not to share my mind-blowing talent with the world."_

_For a moment, he seems shocked by my attempt at a joke. Then he breaks into a grin of his own. "Of _course_. Your talent knows no bounds and encompasses all activities. I want to learn the skills that you possess, so that I may attempt to achieve half of your greatness."_

_"Knows no bounds?" I ask with a quick smile._

_He nods._

_"Encompasses all activities?"_

_"Well, you _are_ all-powerful, Warrior Reyna."_

_I like where this is going. "Naturally."_

_"So _naturally_, you wouldn't mind continuing your teachings, right?" Bobby asks, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth._

_"I'm surprised you even have to _ask_."_

_"Fantastic!" Bobby says, and now his face is drawn into a full-out smirk. "Then our next lesson should be in ukulele-playing."_

_He thinks he's got me, but I _did_ use to live with Circe, who taught the most random things to my sister and me . . . and it _was_ a spa . . . and we _did_ live on an island. . . ._

_So I just shrug and offer a smirk of my own. "I'd be happy to, Novice Bobby. But we'd have to acquire a ukulele first."_

_His mouth drops open. "You mean you really _do_ know how to play one . . . ?"_

_I almost laugh, but I manage to restrain myself. No need to go _crazy _with this "friendly" business. "Of _course _I do, Novice Bobby. After all, my talent _does_ encompass _all_ activities, doesn't it?"_

* * *

_His mouth is still hanging open in amazement when the last of the monsters dissolves into dust._

* * *

The battle dragged on, like all of the battles in this war seemed to do. Reyna knew Kronos was the one who could control time, but some part of her was sure that Gaea possessed the same power. There was no way on earth that she could have such an endless army.

Then again, she wasn't _on_ earth. She _was_ Earth. And so perhaps the sheer numbers were possible after all.

Reyna hated watching other demigods go down. She hated seeing her crowd thin as the monsters only grew thicker. She hated observing stretchers fall halfway to the infirmary because the bearers were shot and killed. She hated feeling like her contribution to the war effort was futile.

The Seven demigods from the prophecy all had incredible power. Hazel was able to open sinkholes under groups of monsters and send them straight back to Tartarus, as long as there weren't any wayward demigods around. Piper charmspoke her enemies into offing themselves. Frank shape-shifted into monsters and blended in with his enemies, right up until the moment they felt claws or a sword rip them into dust. Leo destroyed hordes of enemies with his ship and killed more with fire on the rare occasions that he set foot on the ground. Percy, it went without saying, was the biggest single threat on the battlefield. And . . . it pained Reyna to admit it, but Jason was pretty handy with the lightning stuff himself.

Even Annabeth, the only child of the prophecy without an impressive power, was saving the day with her brilliant strategies. And Nico, who wasn't part of the Seven at all, was taking care of swarms of monsters with a skeleton army that he'd raised from the dead. Next to that, Reyna felt useless. Her fighting took out countless ememies, but more just appeared. It wasn't right.

_It wasn't right. . . ._

Why _did_ more keep appearing? If those eight demigods were so powerful - and they were - and took down so many enemies - which they did - then why hadn't Gaea's army been destroyed already? And if the gods were helping them now, why weren't all the _giants_ destroyed already? What was making this war so hard to win? _What secret was Gaea keeping?_

Reyna thought. She fought on autopilot, but her brain wandered. By all rights, this attack on the camp should never have happened. The monsters Reyna was taking on shouldn't be around. It shouldn't be possible for an army this big to be real. Reyna doubted this many monsters _existed_, even including all of Tartarus. The situation was impossible. Unless . . .

"_NO! STOP! GO AWAY!_"

The scream bore deep into Reyna's brain. All thoughts of impossible armies dissipated. They were replaced by a startling memory that sliced though Reyna as painfully as cutting her heart out with a dull pair of scissors.

* * *

_"NO! STOP! GO AWAY!"_

_The pirate at the door to our cell leers at us, his mouth full of cavities and teeth that are missing altogether._

_"Stop with yer squealing, Hylla Concessi. It ain't so bad, after all. There are worse things for ye to experience, I'd reckon."_

_Hylla is curled into the corner of our prison, knees hugged to her chest. Even after all Circe showed us, I don't understand what the pirate wants from her. At least, not right away.  
_

_"Leave her alone!" I scream, rising from my own corner to run towards him. "You're nothing but a dirty man who deserves to go straight to Tartarus!" And I spit in his face._

_His sneer turns into a scowl. "You're a feisty one, aren't ye, Reyna? Maybe ye'd be a better treat for me than Hylla, here. Maybe I'll bring ye out instead."_

_His comments make sudden and complete sense to me, and I let out an involuntary squeak and shrink backwards. I hate myself for appearing so weak, but I can't help it. What the pirate is suggesting . . ._

_The moment seems frozen for an extra second or two, hanging precariously like a mirror on a wobbly nail._

_The pirate is moving forward to unlock the door, giving me a once-over that makes me want to dive under the hay to cover myself._

_There is a rat squealing somewhere down the hall, which probably isn't helping the situation much. The noise is too similar to that made by a guinea pig._

_The only light comes from a single lantern swinging with the ocean all the way down the hall, casting shadows that lengthen with distance._

_Hylla's back is pressed against the wall as closely as it can get. Her dirty hair hangs in strings across her face as her eyes dart from the pirate to me._

_And I am stuck in the middle of the scene, feet planted to the floor in fear, hands splayed at my side, eyes wide and scared, lips pressed together to hide another shriek from escaping._

_There is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. We only have one dagger between us, which we both know would barely be enough to stop one pirate, let alone _twenty_. There is only one thing for me to do._

_"I—"_

_With one fluid movement, Hylla rises and brushes the hay and muck from her skirt. She tosses her hair to one side, pushing the stringy bits out of her face. "Let's go, pirate." She says it quietly, but with a hidden strength that distinguishes her from the shivering girl in the corner._

_He chuckles, and the noise is the grating of a thousand criminals in the Fields of Punishment, the scraping of fifty tree branches at a window in a gale. He unlocks the door and yanks Hylla out without a word, and I am left standing in the middle of the floor, helpless to aid the girl, the sister, the best friend who raised me._

* * *

The whole scene played out in Reyna's head in maybe half-a-second, but it was enough for her to plan her course of action. She would not let her sister face evil alone again. Reyna had been twelve years old then. Weak. Starved. Terrified. Weaponless. Untrained. But now she was sixteen years old and quite possibly the best fighter in the legion. If Hylla was in trouble, Reyna would help her.

Another scream cut through the din of battle, and Reyna started running, cutting down any monster who dared get in her way. The scream sent her heart racing. It was just like the pirate ship all over again . . .

* * *

_There is only one scream, but it is more painful than my pangs of hunger, more deadly than a knife to the chest. It cuts through my spirit with the force of a battle-ax and rings through the air long after it's over. I don't know why she cried out, and that is the worst thing. I think if Hylla doesn't come back soon, the worrying might just kill me._

_I huddle into the corner that Hylla had occupied less than half an hour ago, wrapping myself in the blanket she always uses. I wait helplessly, praying to whatever god cares to take pity on us. Hylla has always told me to be strong, but tears leak out against my will. I rock back and forth. Hylla, come back. Hylla, be safe. Hylla, oh gods, please . . ._

_Suddenly, there is a change in the air. I'm not sure whether it is good or bad, but I know it has to do with Hylla. My rocking stops abruptly, and I shrug off Hylla's blanket. She might need it when she comes back__—_oh gods, please let her come back.

_I don't know how long I wait in that corner before I hear footsteps on the stairs. My heart races. There is only one set of steps, and it's too heavy to be Hylla. . . . But then again, I've heard her walk without making a sound. . . ._

_Finally, the steps reach the light of the lantern, and my heart abruptly decides to stop racing__—to stop beating at all, actually. Hylla is lying limply across a pirate's arms. Hylla, who would never willingly let a pirate touch her. Hylla, who would never willingly let a _man___ touch her. And she was just lying there__—_

_For the first time since that pirate took Hylla away, I'm able to speak. _"My sister!"_ I shout. _"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER?"

_The man stops in front of our cell. "Your sister," he says quietly, "will be fine." He unlocks the door and deposits Hylla inside with surprising gentleness. I realize that he is not the pirate who took her away. This man is the ship's doctor._

_"Oh, Hylla," I whisper. The pirate closes the cell door again and walks quickly away. As soon as he's out of earshot, I crawl over to Hylla. Hay scrapes my legs and tangles into my hair, but I don't have enough strength to stand, and I have to get to my sister _somehow_._

_As soon as I reach her, I cradle her head in my hands and whisper softly to her. "Hylla, Hylla, it's all right . . . Hylla, please wake up . . . Hylla, I love you. Hylla, _wake up_. Come on, Hylla. _Please_." Tears stream down my face again, but I don't bother wiping them away. I cry freely until her eyes blink open._

_"Hey, kiddo," she says weakly. "Love you too."_

_"Oh, _Hylla_!" I want to hug her, but she seems so fragile, I'm afraid she'll break. Instead, I reach over and grab one of her hands. "Oh, Hylla, did he . . . ?" I can't finish the sentence. What the pirate wanted to do to her is too horrible for words._

_When Hylla hears the terror in my voice, she looks up at me, and the light in her eyes is hard, unflinching, strong. "Reyna-girl, do you know what he wanted with me?"_

_Slowly, I nod, and the tears fall faster._

___Hylla reaches her other hand up and touches my face. The fact that she can move at all comforts me__—just a little. "He didn't get it." She says it forcefully, punching each word into the air to make sure that I understand. "Reyna-girl, he_ didn't get it_."_

_My mouth drops open. "You mean . . . ?"_

_____Hylla grimaces, but I can tell it's supposed to be a smile. "As soon as he tried to get close to me, I fought the son of a gorgon off. But I only got a few good kicks in before some of his buddies came down and overpowered me. They decided I was too much trouble for . . . their purposes, but they figured they could still__—" Hylla stops abruptly and closes her eyes. She takes a deep, shuddering breath before speaking again. "They could still have some fun with me."_

_"_Fun?!_ But Hylla . . . You said . . . "_

_She shakes her head. "Not that," she says quickly. "Not that. They just brought me on deck and whipped me." Carefully, she rolls onto her side. For the first time, I can see the torn-up skin that used to be her back, barely held together by stitches. I let out a squeak before I can help myself._

_"_Just_, Hylla?" I whisper. "You think this could have been _worse_?"_

_"Yes," she says savagely, and she turns her head to look at me again. "I would rather this happen than what they had planned originally. This is better any day. Pain is temporary. What they wanted from me . . . " She shakes her head. "That would have haunted me forever. Besides," she adds with a harsh grin, "I'm glad these will leave scars. They will be reminders of the horror that men cause, and the other horrors that they try to cause." She moves a hand as if to touch her back, but I stop her. Touching those gashes will only infect them._

_"I understand, Hylla," I tell her. I can only hope that the ferocity in my eyes matches hers. The anger that floods my body certainly should. "I understand all of that." I lift my chin, suppressing a fresh bout of tears. "And one day, we will deliver justice to them."_

_Hylla smiles grimly. "I like the sound of that, Reyna-girl."_

* * *

_It is the first time either of us is whipped, but it isn't even close to being the last. The pain and the scars haunt me, but not as much as the memory of Hylla's single scream and the blind terror that followed it. The pirates wanted to break us with whippings, but the truth is, they only made us more determined to win. They could rip our backs to shreds, but they couldn't tear apart our spirits._

* * *

Memories flashed through Reyna's mind as she hurried across the battlefield. She cursed herself for ending up so far away from the infirmary tent. She cursed herself for not being able to run any faster. She cursed the monsters who slowed her down. Most of all, she cursed Gaea for causing this situation in the first place.

Another scream rang out from the infirmary tent, but this one wasn't Hylla's. Reyna knew what her sister's screams sounded like—she could never forget them, really. This cry was female, and human—or demigodly, if she really wanted to get specific—but it wasn't Hylla. If it wasn't Hylla, then who . . . ?

A third girl shrieked, so loudly that even the other demigods lifted their heads to look for the source of the sound. Unable to pinpoint anything immediately, they shook their heads and kept fighting. They knew that screams were going to be a regular occurrence today.

But Reyna didn't give up. If anything, the fact that someone else was shouting worried her even more. At least while Hylla was yelling, Reyna knew she was alive. But now . . . She picked up her pace. Within the next minute, she had reached the infirmary tent—or at least, she had reached the army that was crowding into the infirmary tent.

At that point, Reyna nearly panicked. If this many monsters were _outside_ the tent, how many more were _inside_? What kind of ghastly force was Hylla dealing with?

But Reyna didn't back down, of course. She was _Reyna Concessi_. Monsters didn't scare her. Besides, she _had_ to help her sister. She wasn't about to let her down again. And with the battle raging on, Reyna was certain Hylla wasn't the only one in that tent. Dakota was lying in there somewhere, along with probably countless other wounded demigods. If Reyna had any chance of saving their lives, by the gods, she would try.

With a sudden, decisive flick of her wrist, Reyna sliced through the first monster at the edge of the pack. "No one hurts my sister, you son of a gorgon," she growled at the pile of dust. Then she took down five more creatures, making sure that they cried out in pain before they died. Slowly, the rest of the horde turned to face her. She watched sixty red eyes blink at her in shock.

"Hello," she said innocently. "Sorry to interrupt this party, but I've been told I'm a _very_ effective gate-crasher."

No one moved, so with a tilt of her head, Reyna bared her teeth in a poor imitation of a smile. "I personally agree with them. So either you can come here and let me kill you quickly, or you can try to fight back, and I'll make your deaths more painful than a dip in the Styx."

Naturally, they tried to fight back. Reyna was glad. They didn't deserve a quick death. They deserved every ounce of pain that Reyna could dish out.

In about a minute, her path to the tent was clear. Reyna didn't hesitate. She plunged through the tent flap—and straight into the most hopeless battle she had ever seen.

There were dozens of demigods in that tent, but every single one of them was injured. A few had relatively minor injuries that still allowed them to brandish some form of a weapon against the monsters, but too many were lying helpless on infirmary cots, either passed-out or (worse in Reyna's opinion) immobile, watching with horror as their friends fell in front of their eyes.

As Reyna fought her way forward, she scanned the faces on the beds around her. Arnold and Carlos were still unconscious from the other day. Dakota was somehow still awake and trying hard to climb out of bed, but _no one_ could stand with only one leg. He kept trying, though. Some sad part of Reyna's brain wondered if he was too in-shock to understand that one of his limbs was missing.

Reyna recognized other wounded demigods too. Jessica Gonzalez, Third Cohort, had her good arm in a sling, but was fighting bravely with her left hand. Alexander, a legionnaire who was barely eleven, was sprawled on a bed, a nasty bruise discoloring the side of his face. Reyna was glad his was being spared some of the horrible sights she was seeing.

More faces. Friendly Greeks she had passed around camp, cut down before her eyes. Hunters whose archery skills she had admired, being pushed to the ground and having their bows and arrows ripped out of their hands and shot into their friends. Fourth Cohort-ers she had grown up beside, reduced to weakly defending themselves with the nearest medical scalpel. The healer who had helped Reyna so many times, Will Solace, stuck in bed with broken ribs and a shattered femur—Reyna could tell from the bandages. When a monster veered towards the son of Apollo, Reyna detoured and sliced it apart. Then she nodded at Will, hoping he got the message. _You owe me nothing for that. You've saved my life at least twice. I'm only returning the favor. _He nodded back, so Reyna hoped he understood. She didn't have time to confirm. All these people, and she _still_ hadn't caught sight of Hylla. Either her sister was fighting in the very middle of the fray, or she was being trampled under monsters' feet. . . . Reyna pushed that image out of her mind. Her sister would be _fine_. She _had_ to be. And even if she wasn't, Reyna still had to find her.

Gods, Reyna hadn't remembered the infirmary tent being so huge. How many cots lined the sides of the tent? All those, and every one of them filled, and there were still demigods lying on stretchers in between. There were still many demigods standing, fending off monsters. And Hylla was still hidden somewhere in the middle.

Reyna kept fighting, growing frantic despite her best efforts to remain calm. In her haste, she didn't have time to block an _empousa's_ sword. It cut into her bad shoulder, but Reyna barely winced as she took down the monster. Who cared? It was a minor injury.

An arrow grazed her side. A sword sliced off the end of her braid. A Laistrygonian cannonball whistled by an inch from her face, taking the skin off her nose. Another arrow pierced her thigh. Reyna yanked the projectile out of her and stabbed it into the nearest monster, not even pausing to watch it fall before she pushed past it. Where was Hylla? And who were the other screaming girls?

Reyna slashed apart two hellhounds and a Cyclops with one stroke of her sword, and as they dissolved, they cleared the way to the center of the battle, and Reyna pushed her way forward, and then finally—_finally_—she spotted Hylla.

She was okay after all, as okay as anyone could be in a battle like this. She was leaning slightly on her good leg, but her balance was mostly steady as she destroyed any monster that dared come close. Her dark eyes flashed, and she seemed unaffected by the minor injuries she had accumulated with the fight. For a moment, Reyna wondered why she didn't move, and then she saw two girls at Hylla's feet, girls who had nasty stab wounds and were only dubiously conscious. Girls in black Amazonian jumpsuits. Reyna understood the situation immediately. Then she rushed forward and fell into place next to her sister.

"Reyna!" her sister yelled over the din of the battle. "What the Styx are you doing here?"

Reyna sliced apart a _dracaena_ before she answered. "I heard screaming coming from the infirmary tent," she explained. She faced the monsters rather than Hylla as she spoke. "I heard _you_ screaming," she clarified. "You were shouting, the same way you had when . . . " She couldn't complete the thought. "I just . . . I _had_ to come help."

"Oh, Reyna," Hylla said, "I'm so sorry. . . . That must have scared you. I wasn't screaming for myself. People have been bringing the wounded in here all day. Since I was the least injured out of all of them, I stayed near the entrance to stand guard. When the first monsters entered this tent, I yelled at them to leave, or else. When they didn't, I cut them down. Unfortunately, they were only the beginning of this force. Anybody who could still stand and hold a weapon did so. We were fighting for I-don't-know-how-long when I . . . I . . . " Hylla took a deep breath and focused on the monsters for a while. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet. "I saw one of my Amazons get stabbed from behind. That was the second time I screamed."

"Gods, Hylla, I—"

"Don't be sorry, Reyna," Hylla said sharply. "A monster did that, not you." There was a time when Reyna would have been scared off by the harsh edge to Hylla's words, but now she understood. Hylla was only being abrupt because anything more gentle would make her cry. Reyna was the same way sometimes.

"Besides," Hylla added gruffly, "it's not like you haven't seen the same thing happen to your legionnaires today."

Reyna couldn't argue with that. They fought in silence for a while.

"So these girls were injured, and cried out when they got hurt, and you came over to protect them," Reyna said eventually, just to fill the quiet. "And you've been standing here ever since?"

Hylla nodded. "But every time I kill one monster, two take its place. It's endless."

"That seems to be a theme of this war," Reyna muttered. "Endless." A phrase sprang to mind at that word. _Twins snuff out the angel's breath, who holds the key to endless death_.

She paused suddenly. Closing the Doors was supposed to make death endless, but instead, _the monsters kept coming_. Did that mean . . . ? Was there a _leak_ somewhere . . . ? Did Gaea have a secret sinkhole that led straight to Tartarus? Was there a way to climb out of that sinkhole? _Were the monsters regenerating after all?_

Reyna whirled to face Hylla. "Hylla," she started to say, "what if—"

Suddenly, out of her peripheral vision, Reyna saw a giant Cyclops loom up behind her sister, twelve feet tall, a massive battle-ax in his hands, a malevolent gleam in his single eye.

Hylla turned toward Reyna in slow motion. Her lips moved equally slowly, but Reyna could only hear the blood roaring in her ears. She read Hylla's lips instead. _Yeah, Reyna-girl . . . ?_ her sister asked. _What is it?_

The monster brought the ax down towards Hylla's head, and Reyna could almost _see_ it slice apart the molecules in the air. Her sister's skull would be no problem for the bronze blade . . .

Reyna found her voice. _"HYLLA!"_

Even her own scream was in slow motion as she pushed her sister out of the way . . . Just in time for the battle-ax to cut into _her_ instead.

* * *

_"Lala, I'm hungry. Feed me, pwease?"_

_"Of course, kiddo! Pasta or Chinese?"_

* * *

_"Lala, carry me? I tired."_

_"No problem, kiddo. Climb aboard."_

* * *

_"Lala, reading is hard. Help me?"_

_"All right, kiddo. Come sit in my lap."_

* * *

_"Hylla, the things Circe showed me were . . . well, pretty awful. Mind if I, uh, sleep in here tonight?"_

_"Sure, Reyna-girl. This bed is too big for one person anyway."_

* * *

_"Hylla . . . the pirates . . . all our friends . . . they killed . . . "_

_"Shhh, Reyna-girl, I know. Dry your tears. Come over here. It's okay, kiddo. We'll be okay."_

* * *

_"Hylla, this training is too hard! It's impossible! I'm not strong enough to lift a sword!"_

_"Yes you are, Reyna-girl. I know you are. Just try again, okay? And remember that it'll all pay off in the end."_

* * *

_"Hylla, I don't know if I can. I don't think I'm ready to escape yet. I'm sorry, but . . . Hylla . . . I'm scared. What if they're stronger than us, and we _die_?"_

_"We _won't_, Reyna-girl. We're daughters of Bellona. We were born for combat. We'll be all right, okay? I promise."_

* * *

She pushed her sister out the way, just in time for the battle-ax to cut into her instead . . . only . . . it _didn't_.

Reyna was lying on the ground, but her vision was clear. She didn't feel any pain. There was no blood soaking the ground.

Actually . . .

There _was_ blood on the ground, but it wasn't _hers_, and she had pushed Hylla out of the way. Then who . . . ?

_"KINZIE!"_

* * *

For a second, Reyna was sure she'd heard the scream wrong. But then she saw the girl lying onto the ground next to her. Black jumpsuit. Auburn hair. And a huge gash in her back.

"Oh, _gods_," Reyna gasped. "Kinzie . . . "

The Amazon was still for five seconds, ten, and Reyna's world was crashing down around her . . . Then Kinzie took in a shuddering breath that racked her whole body. _She wasn't dead_. At least . . . not _yet_.

The battle seemed to fade into the background. Reyna couldn't fight right now. Somebody else could take over . . . and luckily for them, it seemed like someone did. No monsters were attacking them, anyway.

Hylla knelt at Kinzie's side, and Reyna scrambled over too. _This could not be happening._

"It'll be fine," Hylla was saying. "You just need some nectar. It'll fix you right up. I . . . Just keep breathing, Kinzie. _Please_. You have to. You were the only one who stood by me when Otrera . . . " Hylla took a deep breath. Reyna could see her pushing back tears. "You can't leave now. You're my lieutenant. And . . . Gods, Kinzie, you're my closest friend. You _have_ to be all right. You _have_ to be."

"Sometimes . . . " Kinzie coughed, "things . . . don't . . . work. . . . Promises . . . broken . . . accidentally . . . " She took another rasping breath.

"Oh, Kinzie," Hylla whispered. "You didn't have to do this. . . . "

"Yes . . . I did. . . . My . . . Queen . . . "

Reyna felt like her heart was being simultaneously squeezed to death, sliced into pieces, and baked in an oven. Words burst out of her before she could stop them. "But you _didn't_ save Hylla!" she cried. "I pushed her out of the way! You saved _me_! Kinzie, you barely _know_ me!"

Kinzie's head jerked to the side, as if to say, _I know, and I don't care._ "You're . . . Hylla's . . . sister. . . . And . . . my . . . friend . . . "

"_Gods_, Kinzie. . . . " Reyna's eyes filled with tears. "For what it's worth, you're my friend too."

Kinzie choked, but Reyna recognized it as an attempt at laughter. The sad noise broke Reyna completely in half, even as Kinzie said, "Friend? Better . . . be . . . after . . . saving . . . your . . . life . . . "

Reyna couldn't laugh, or even smile. How could Kinzie be joking at a time like this?

* * *

_"What, no 'I'm-sorry-for-almost-chopping-your-head-off-Kinzi e'?" the Amazon teased._

_Reyna didn't know how she could joke when Hylla's life was in danger. "I'm sorry for almost chopping your head off, Kinzie," she replied in a hard voice, not sounding sorry at all. "But you did sneak up on me without warning. Now how is Hylla?"_

_"Touchy, touchy," Kinzie scolded lightly._

* * *

Reyna supposed Kinzie had made light of bad situations before. But after all, that hadn't _truly_ been a bad situation. Hylla had turned out fine. But this was different. This time, no one was escaping death, no matter what they were telling themselves.

As if in response to Reyna's thought, Hylla grabbed Kinzie's hand. "Stay with me, Kinzie. We'll get nectar. We'll heal you."

Kinzie moved her head, which Reyna interpreted as a shake "no".

"Can't . . . heal . . . this . . . " she managed. "Don't . . . leave . . . "

There was a long beat of silence, when all the world froze. And then Hylla nodded. With that gesture, the Queen of the Amazons couldn't push back her tears any longer. "I won't, Kinzie," she whispered between sobs. "I'm right here."

Reyna felt like she was intruding. Kinzie was _Hylla's_ best friend. Hylla was _Kinzie's_ queen. She couldn't watch this. She couldn't stay here. She would just . . . She would get up. She would get back to fighting. She had seen her friends die before. This was _war_, after all. She was strong. Emotionless. Unbreakable. She could push down her tears. She _could_. That was what lone praetors did. That was what they had to do. And Reyna was good at doing what she had to.

So she moved backwards, maybe half an inch. Kinzie noticed immediately. "Reyna . . . where . . . ?"

"I don't belong here," Reyna said quietly. "I really—"

Kinzie cut her off. "Want . . . you . . . stay . . . too . . . "

With those four words, Reyna's barriers broke down. Her tears spilled over her dams, and she stayed, as much as it pained her to watch Kinzie's blood pooling onto the floor. After all, that was what friends had to do. And Reyna was good at doing what she had to.

When Kinzie saw their tears, her eyebrows furrowed. "Don't . . . cry . . . " she insisted. "I . . . have . . . Elysium . . . "

Her argument didn't convince Reyna one bit. If anything, her tears fell harder. Kinzie was too young to die. Every demigod fighting this war was too young to die. So why the _Styx_ did the Fates keep cutting their damn _strings_?

"It's . . . okay . . . " Kinzie said, like she had read Reyna's thoughts. "Think . . . of it . . . _this_ . . . way . . . then. . . . I _can_ . . . call you 'child' . . . for . . . the rest . . . of . . . my . . . life . . . "

* * *

_Reyna smiled again, more genuinely than last time. "Well, thank you for that. For the record, I'll be concerned about you too from now on."_

_"You're sixteen," Kinzie said loftily. "I'm _nineteen_. I don't need a _child's _concern."_

_Reyna's smile turned into a vicious grin. "A child, huh? Do you think you could beat this 'child' in a fight?"_

_"No," Kinzie admitted freely. "That doesn't mean that I won't lord the word over your head for the rest of this battle. And possibly for our whole lives."_

_"You can't," Reyna said._

_"Oh yes I ca-"_

_"No, you can't," Reyna insisted. "I'm nearly seventeen. I'll be eighteen in less than a year and a half. After that, I won't be a child anymore."_

_Kinzie smiled, but it was a little sad. "That's assuming we survive that long," she muttered, so softly that Reyna wasn't sure she'd heard her right._

* * *

"Kinzie!" Reyna cried. "Don't _say_ that!"

"Nothing . . . wrong . . . with admitting . . . the truth . . . " Kinzie insisted. "Might as well . . . deal . . . with it . . . "

"Kinzie, _stop_," Hylla said, her tears mixing with Kinzie's blood. "It'll be fine. Just relax and keep breathing, and you can—"

"No . . . _you_ . . . stop . . . " Kinzie whispered. "Accept . . . it . . . no . . .. empty . . . promises . . . not . . . now . . . " She gasped weakly.

"All right, Kinzie," Hylla said. "No empty promises. I will stay here with you, and so will Reyna. We won't leave you. We couldn't. After all, you're like . . . " She struggled to find the best words. "You're . . . "

"A second sister," Reyna supplied, taking Kinzie's hand in her right and Hylla's in her left. "You're a second sister to both of us."

"Yes," Hylla said, smiling brokenly down at Kinzie as she squeezed her other hand. "To both of us."

Kinzie smiled, her eyes glassy. "I will . . . watch you . . . defeat . . . Gaea . . . from . . . Elysium . . . "

Her breath whooshed out gently.

Reyna _had_ tasted death in the air that morning. But it hadn't been her death _or_ Hylla's.

It had been Kinzie's.

The Amazon didn't breathe in again.

Hylla choked down a wail. "Goodbye, my sister Amazon," she whispered, shutting Kinzie's eyes. "You have always been a brave fighter."

Hylla's tears poured down, washing the blood off her hands, but Reyna's eyes felt like they had been steamed dry. She was too numb to cry. She had barely known Kinzie for a month, but the Amazon had been full of fun and full of _life_. For her to die, now, like this . . . It was like every star in the universe had exploded into supernovas and dissolved into black holes.

"The monster that did this . . . " Reyna murmured. She forced her voice to become stronger. "The monster that did this!" she cried. "Where is it?" She pushed herself to her feet, shaking, trying to keep her dagger steady.

Silence answered her. Reyna looked out in confusion. There were no monsters in sight—just scatterings of yellow dust and dozens of demigods in various states of injury, all with their heads bowed. "Where is the monster that did this?" Reyna shouted. "_Where_?"

A seven-year-old from the Fifth Cohort stepped out of the crowd. "It's dead, Praetor," she said quietly. "That Amazon—Kinzie—came in and saved all of us. She was wild and effective, like a . . . a feral cat or something. She fought off all of the monsters around us. We would have been slaughtered without her. She was making her way towards Hylla, just like you were, and she arrived just in time to see the . . . the ax . . . and she . . . " The girl stopped for a second to wipe her eyes. "After she saved you, we knew we had to protect you guys. You . . . you all deserved that. So we took care of the rest of the monsters." She hefted her knife, as long as a sword in her tiny hand. "Even hurt, we're nasty fighters when we have to be."

Reyna was speechless. "Good . . . good job, Anna Marie," she managed. "Good job . . . all of you." And then she crumpled at Kinzie's side, lost, like a guard dog without a treasure to protect. Reyna fought when she was scared, when she was worried, when she was heartbroken, when she was devastated. That was her coping mechanism. And if there was nothing to fight . . . Reyna wasn't sure what to do. She had no purpose. She had no way to get revenge.

Her eyes rained tears again, and Reyna decided not to ward them off. Everyone in the tent had seen her bawling already. They had seen the wild, terrified look in her eyes as she stood up and looked for a fight. These demigods had discovered that her cold exterior was just a disguise. So what was the point in wearing it?

Kinzie was dead. Disguises didn't matter. Reyna was broken. She had been for years.

There was no use hiding that any more.


	7. Making Amends

**First of all, I am SOOOO sorry**** about the slowness of this update . . . Especially considering how the last chapter ended. . . .**** I know it's been over a month since I updated, and I know that since House of Hades came out already, bits and pieces of this story probably conflict with the canon timeline now...**

**I'M SORRY. I could give you a long excuse, but you probably don't care all that much, so I'll just say I had the triple threat problem: school, extracurricular activities, and a bit of writer's block. Okay, a lot of writer's block. :P ****I started this story because I wanted to write about Reyna's past and her role in the Battle of Greece, and for a while, the ideas just kind of came to me. Then, sometime during the last few chapters, I realized that the story had no plot and kind of needed one if I ever wanted it to, well, have a point . . . thus, much thinking about where the heck I wanted this fic to go. Not saying that I've sorted it all out yet (because I ****_totally_**** haven't), but I at least kind of have an idea now. (And then HoH came out and I spent two days not doing much else besides reading it... :P)**

******Also, I'm sorry because this is shorter than I wanted originally and isn't really**** my best work, even though you TOTALLY deserve my best after my long hiatus... I just wanted to get it out as soon as possible. Once again, I'M SORRY.**

**However, I am NOT abandoning this story, even though my updates will probably be embarrassingly sporadic. I WILL KEEP WRITING IT, and if you want to keep reading and reviewing it, that would be _lovely_. :) It will be finished as soon as humanly possible.**

**Anyway, thank you thank you thank you for the support! You guys are the best . . . and I hope you didn't abandon this story because it hadn't been updated in ages. . . . :P**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO.**

**Also, here is the end of the last chapter, since it's been ****_so_**** long.**

_"Kinzie was dead. Disguises didn't matter. Reyna was broken. She had been for years._

_There was no use hiding that any more."_

* * *

**Making Amends**

* * *

_Yeah, right._

Reyna was so startled, she actually stopped crying.

_Come on, Praetor. Don't be melodramatic. You know that's not true._

Oh gods, was she hearing voices now? What the _Styx_ was wrong with her?

_You are not broken, _the voice continued calmly, as if she wasn't freaking out about going insane. _You are actually one of the strongest demigods ever to walk the earth. Few could undergo the hardships you have faced and come out _alive_, let alone victorious and experienced. Your people raised you up on that shield for a reason - _before_ they carried Jason, I might add. They lifted you first because they saw the brave, hardened, fair, and mighty warrior in you. They knew that you would make a brave, hardened, fair, and mighty praetor as well. And you have._

Reyna hesitated. She felt like a basketcase, but she answered the voice in her head.

_Hardened?_ she thought._ Mighty? I'm crying like I'm nine years old again, and suddenly the world's dirty laundry has been shoved under my nose. How in all of Olympus does that make me a strong demigod? I'm weak. And since I'm actually talking back to you, I think I'm a little nuts as well._

_Haven't you learned anything in all your years of training? _the voice chided._ When demigods hear voices, they are rarely imaginary._

_Besides, _it added, before Reyna could think of a response,_ tears do not make you weak. Emotion does not make you weak. Artemis herself shed a tear when her faithful lieutenant Zoe Nightshade passed from this world. You said yourself that Kinzie was like a second sister to you. It is only right that you should cry at her passing. There is nothing wrong with feeling, Reyna Concessi. It simply means you are human, and I, for one, think your legionnaires are _glad_ to realize that for all your stone-cold barriers, you _do_ have a heart after all._

_And anyway, _it said with a touch of amusement,_ you are no longer crying._

Reyna paused, unwilling to listen to the advice of an illusion. Eventually, though, she realized she didn't really have a choice. _But what do I do now?_ she asked, feeling frail and foolish for needing the help of an imaginary voice. _How can I ever try to be unbreakable again? They'll all see right through me._

_Somehow,_ the voice said gently, _I think your secret will be safe with them._

Reyna thought carefully. She wiped away the last traces of saltwater from her face, and then she looked up at the crowd of wounded demigods. All of them were looking away—at their weapons, at their injuries, at their feet, anywhere but at Reyna. At first, Reyna thought they were embarrassed to be near such a weepy praetor, and then she realized that they were averting their eyes out of respect. They didn't want to watch her cry any more than Reyna wanted them to see. They understood the pain of loss, and they had decided not to encroach on her privacy. Reyna felt a sudden, overwhelming rush of gratitude towards her Romans—and the Greeks, Hunters, and Amazons as well, for they were all there too, and they were all being just as kind.

Slowly, Reyna pushed herself to her feet, touching Kinzie's hand one last time as she stood, remembering the Amazon's last words. _I will watch you defeat Gaea from Elysium._

_Yes, you will,_ Reyna vowed, blinking away a few drops of moisture before they could fall. _Don't you worry, Kinzie. I will make amends for your death. I will destroy this army. I will protect my other friends. _

_As long as I am standing, Gaea will never win._

She wiped her dagger clean on the corner of her soiled praetor's cloak and gripped it securely in her hand. The simple weight of the Imperial gold blade steadied her resolve. Then Reyna looked up at the crowd of demigods around her. "Well," she said, carefully keeping her voice from trembling, "what are we all still doing here? There _is_ a battle going on outside, you know."

Silence. Reyna wanted to turn and dash down the length of the enormous tent and burst out of the back flap and sprint until she was so far away that no one had ever heard of the name Reyna Concessi . . . but she stood still and held her head high. She was going to keep this charade up until one of them called her out on it.

Finally, someone spoke. "She's right." An Amazon stepped forward, a girl with shockingly red hair and steel-colored eyes that Reyna had never seen before. "Kinzie would . . . " She faltered, but didn't stop. "She would have yelled at us for standing here so long." She adjusted the strap of her sling. "I can't fight with my right hand, but by the gods, I have two for a reason." The Amazon drew her sword out from its sheath and hefted it in her left hand. Reyna understood the harsh light in her eyes all too well. "Now are we going to go kick some monster ass, or what?" The Amazon glanced at Anna Marie. "Pardon my language."

Anna Marie grinned up at the Amazon, putting on a brave face that Reyna couldn't help but admire in such a small girl. "Don't worry about it," she said, straightening her shoulders and standing up as tall as she could. "I live in a camp full of teenagers."

The Amazon laughed, ruffling Anna Marie's hair. "I like you already." Quickly, she shot a look in Reyna's direction—a look at Reyna immediately understood to mean, _Are you sure you're okay?_

In response, Reyna looked down at Hylla. "You coming, sis?" she asked softly.

Hylla shook her head, never moving her eyes from Kinzie's face. "Not . . . yet," she said carefully. "I'll, um . . . clean up the mess in here." A tear leaked out of her eye, and Reyna had to fight hard to keep from following suit. At least fifteen demigods had fallen in the battle and were lying in contorted positions around the tent. Reyna didn't envy the job her sister had just volunteered for.

"All right," Reyna answered, still speaking too quietly for everyone else to hear. "Love you."

"Same to you, Reyna-girl." Hylla looked up just long enough to give Reyna a sad smile and then dropped her eyes to Kinzie's form again.

Reyna swallowed hard and turned to face the assembled demigods. She grinned at them wickedly, squeezing the hilt of her dagger. "Come on, then," she said, taking her first steps away from Kinzie's body. "We have a job to do."

* * *

Honestly, Reyna wasn't sure how she was surviving the rest of the day. She just used her anger—at Gaea, at the monsters, at the whole stupid war, at herself, at _everything_—to energize her. It kept her dagger strikes and parries unbelievably quick, heightened her awareness, fueled her fighting energy, and prevented her from thinking about Kinzie. If she took a break, the pain of the Amazon's death—of _all_ of the suffering this war was causing—would be too much for Reyna to handle. The solution to that problem was simple. Reyna didn't take breaks.

Her friends swirled around her. Gwen slipped past her once, sparing her a kind glance before focusing her attention on a Colchis bull a few feet away. Later on, Annabeth whirled by, practically attached to Percy at the hip. They fought a monster next to Reyna for about five seconds, then moved on to the next immediate threat. A fireball rocketed out of the sky and crushed a Laistrygonian, which Reyna knew meant that Leo was still alive too, still fighting. Rubies were scattered on the ground in one location, telling Reyna that Hazel had been in the area recently. A set of tiny footprints showed that she had been fighting basilisks—Frank had obviously been in weasel form at the time. Normally, Reyna would never have noticed such tiny details, but her normally-mild ADHD was set in overdrive. She saw everything, which was comforting. For one thing, it kept her reflexes sharper than ever, so she was able to avoid most injuries. More importantly, the little clues Reyna picked up were her only signs that her comrades were still alive.

The day ran on in a blur of gold—golden dagger, golden dust, golden sunlight (unnatural during such a dark day), golden ichor, and golden armor. Reyna sustained scratches and bruises and ignored them completely. She killed massive Cyclopes with the flick of a wrist and kept fighting like it was no big deal. Kinzie had died to protect her. Reyna had sworn to use her life to make sure Gaea and her giants lost this war. She found that she was able to do anything it took to keep that promise.

Her brain went into survival mode, thinking only of the actions she needed to complete as she completed them. It was just easier that way.

_Dodge, stab, parry, twist, block, slash three times, step over the pile of dust, slice through a new monster, shake yellow dust out of your hair, turn to a third enemy, spin to avoid the battle-ax rushing for your head—_

She pushed her sister out the way, just in time for the battle-ax to cut into her instead . . . only . . . it didn—

_No, no, don't think of that now—_

_Violent cut into the monster's liver, laugh as it crumbles_—_gods, where did that laugh come from, it's almost manic_—

_Step over the dust, stop thinking, whirl in a circle to slice through five monsters simultaneously, avoid looking at the bloodstains on the ground—_

There was blood on the ground. It wasn't hers, and she had pushed Hylla out of the way. . . . She saw the girl lying onto the ground next to her; black jumpsuit, auburn hair, a huge gash in her back—

_Stop thinking (again), duck the monster's hammer, sidestep, parry, parry, counterattack, blink away the gold dust on your eyelashes, see a flash of red hair in the crowd—_

Auburn hair, a huge gash in her back—

_Stop thinking (some more), catch an arrow in midair, throw it at the nearest monster, chop down a _dracaena_, find a new enemy, stab, slash, dodge, slash, sidestep, stab, stab, slice, wade through the gold dust coating the air, protect one of Hylla's Amazons from getting stabbed in the back, nod in response to the thanks of the girl in the black jumpsuit—_

Black jumpsuit . . . a huge gash in her back—

_Stop thinking (it was harder than it sounded), fade into the rhythm of fighting, spare a breath to curse at the cut that just appeared on your arm, kill the monster that caused that cut, kill a few more monsters, use a beat of calm to look for people who need help, skim your eyes over the crowd, return them to the monster in front of you when you don't see anyone in dire need, slice apart said monster, step through the curtain of yellow dus—_

_And discover a person in dire need. Anna Marie._

* * *

At the sight of the small girl in such huge danger, Reyna's conflicting emotions and unexpected flashbacks and mental instructions disappeared, replaced by one clear thought—_save her_.

_Save her, especially since you couldn't save Kinzie._

Reyna rushed forwards, watching in terror as Anna Marie bravely fought the _empousa_ wielding a sword in front of her . . . never noticing the massive snake slithering in from the side . . . Oh gods, Reyna wasn't going to make it in time. . . .

* * *

_I run forward, but I can tell I won't be fast enough. Instead of trying to take down the snake woman in combat . . . I pull my arm back and flick my wrist forward, sending my knife spinning. _

* * *

Reyna skidded to a halt. _Holy Bellona_, she was being stupid. Before the snake could get within five feet of Anna Marie, Reyna threw her knife.

It flew straight and true, just like it was supposed to, before sinking up to its hilt in the snake's skin.

The monster crumbled into dust.

Reyna reached the pile of gold and pulled her knife out of the mess, thrusting upwards and taking down a second monster before she'd even straightened all the way.

At the same time, Anna Marie finished off the _empousa_ she was fighting and turned to Reyna. "You saved my life," she said in awe.

"Keep your eyes on the battle, kiddo," Reyna said sternly, although she didn't manage to _completely_ hide her smile. "That wasn't anything special. I was just doing my job."

Anna Marie followed Reyna's instructions, but she kept sneaking sidelong glances her way. "Well then," Anna Marie said eventually, in a tone surprisingly solemn for such a tiny girl, "you are really super duper good at your job."

Reyna thought of the piles of paperwork waiting for her back home—if she made it back home alive—that were practically flooding the _principia_. She remembered how tongue-tied she became during senate meetings, as Octavian dripped slimy honey into his words, making his speech just real enough for the legion to believe it. If that was doing a "really super duper good job" . . .

But then she remembered the confident way she'd organized the search parties for Jason, keeping her back straight and her head held high, even though her heart was shattering into several million pieces. She remembered the fair way she'd resolved fights between legionnaires when they hadn't been totally happy about the outcome of that week's war games. She recalled the strong way she'd led her cohort into battle; she remembered the painful way she'd hidden her sorrow as her friends were cut down around her, choosing to fight back rather than bawl; her eyes sparkled as she thought of the incredible way the entire legion had raised her on a shield. . . . Maybe she wasn't such a bad praetor after all.

Still . . .

"Really, Anna Marie, it was nothing," Reyna said, keeping her eyes on the battle. "I'm more impressed by you. How many monsters have you beaten today?"

"Fifteen." Anna Marie didn't hesitate for a beat. She'd probably been keeping track, just so she could boast about her success later. It broke Reyna's heart to think about how innocent Anna Marie was . . . so naively confident that there'd even _be _a later . . .

"Fifteen?" Reyna asked, struggling to maintain a lighthearted tone. "In just one day? That's amazing!" Reyna didn't mention what she _really_ thought was amazing—that Anna Marie was still alive. The odds were stacked against _every_ demigod today, and for a small girl who hadn't even been alive a decade . . . It was incredible that she still had a later to hope for.

In that moment, Reyna realized just how badly she wanted Anna Marie to have her later. She took down four monsters while she thought about the best way to keep Anna Marie safe. Then it came to her.

"You know, kiddo," she said, "you should really leave some monsters for the rest of us. It's just not fair for you to hog them all."

Anna Marie turned towards her, furrowing her eyebrows. "But . . ."

"Besides," Reyna continued, "I have a very special and important job for you."

Anna Marie stared in surprise. "You _do_?"

Reyna nodded, gauging Anna Marie's reactions with one eye while her other watched the battle shrewdly. "Yup," she said. "You see, there's a boy in the infirmary . . ."

She hesitated. Chances were, there were still bodies in the infirmary, and at the very least, there were countless injured demigods, and Dakota himself was missing a leg. Did she really want to leave Anna Marie in such a ghastly place . . . ? But Anna Marie had been in the infirmary tent herself, probably for hours. She had fought in that painful battle. She had seen all of the ghastly things already anyway. Besides, it was the safest place for Anna Marie right now, with such short notice.

Reyna regained her confidence, slicing through monsters as she spoke. "Actually, there are _two_ boys in the infirmary that you need to know about. I have _two_ jobs for you." Anna Marie's eyes widened. "That's right," Reyna said, managing a smile. "Two very important jobs. First of all, I want you to find a boy with a mouth stained all red, like a . . . like he'd been _really_ messy when eating a cherry popsicle." Anna Marie giggled, and Reyna was suddenly glad that she hadn't used the first phrase that had come to mind—_like a vampire_. The small girl really didn't need any more scary images in her head. "His name is Dakota," Reyna told her. "I want you to make sure that he stays in bed. He's not allowed to try and climb out and go back to fighting, okay? If he protests, tell him that's a direct order from his praetor." Anna Marie's back straightened. She was obviously impressed to be trusted with such authority.

Reyna kept going. "Make sure he's comfortable. Then find another boy—he has blond hair and bandages wrapped around his stomach and left leg. His name is Will Solace, and he's the boy in charge of the infirmary. Ask him if he has anything for you to do, and make sure you follow whatever his orders are. You're going to be a nurse today, Anna Marie."

The girl beamed. "Nurses help people get better," she told Reyna. "I'd like that." She paused. "But . . . what if he doesn't have any orders for me?"

Once again, Reyna had to censor the first response that came to mind. _It's war, Anna Marie. Injured people fill that tent beyond capacity. I promise he'll have orders for you._ Instead she said, "Even if he doesn't, you stay in the tent, okay, Anna Marie? That's a direct order from your praetor too. If you don't . . ." Reyna thought of an appropriate threat. "I'll make you clean your entire barrack all by yourself when we get home."

Anna Marie giggled. "You wouldn't do that . . ." She trailed off when she saw the look on Reyna's face. ". . .Would you?"

Reyna raised her eyebrows. "I don't think you want to find out, kiddo."

Anna Marie nodded solemnly. "Okay, Praetor Reyna," she said. "I'll stay in the tent." She hesitated again. "Um . . . will you bring me to the infirmary tent?"

She looked ashamed and anxious to ask for help, so Reyna answered quickly. "Look up, Anna Marie," she said kindly. "We're already here."

Anna Marie's eyes widened as if Reyna had done something magical, when really she had just chosen to fight only monsters on her right (besides the occasional kill in the other directions for protection) so that they would constantly shift in that direction. "Wow," she said. "You're _awesome_, Praetor Reyna!"

At that, Reyna couldn't help herself. She smiled. "Thank you, Nurse Anna Marie." As a response, Anna Marie beamed at her.

Oh gods, she wasn't built for sappy emotions.

Quickly, Reyna's voice grew stern. "Now go on inside," she said. "You have work to do, kiddo."

Before Reyna knew what was happening, Anna Marie's arms were around her waist, and the little girl was still grinning. Reyna patted her back awkwardly, not sure if she was supposed to keep talking. But apparently, that was enough, because soon Anna Marie released her and ran inside the infirmary tent. She was as safe as a demigod could be today.

Reyna shook her head in amazement, suddenly realizing that she had called Anna Marie a "kiddo". It hadn't been so very long since she had been a "kiddo" herself. In fact, Hylla had called her that just . . . had it been just this morning? Could Reyna's world have flipped upside down in such a short time? Gods of Olympus. . .

Reyna was dumbfounded for five seconds, ten, and then she forcibly suppressed her shock. She had thought she was mature before, but she had grown even more hardened in the last few hours. She could contemplate that later.

Reyna whirled around and plunged back into the fray.

After all, if there was one thing she was certain of, there was no _way_ she was a "kiddo" anymore.

She had big-girl work to do now.


End file.
